Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition
by Duwee Davis II
Summary: This is a 'what-if' scenario, a kind of... alternate series of Death Note is someone with an entirely different situation to Light Yagami were to find a Death Note- someone who is already a Marine Biology and Zoology student at Bangor University, Wales, living an independent life at Halls of Residence and bearing a very different personality to Light Yagami indeed...
1. 01: The Beginning of an Era

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 1- The Beginning of an Era**

_The Shinigami Realm, unknown time_

The Shinigami Realm. A desolate wasteland, strewn with giant rib-cages of some kind of great creature which clearly didn't exist at the current time and the skulls of smaller creatures that seemed equally absent from the current scene. Any landscape free of the pale grey bones was covered in dust that was merely a darker shade of grey. The sky, or lack thereof, seemed to be the exact same hue as the rest of the world, and if it wasn't for the occasional landmark, one would not be stupid for assuming that the sky and ground met together and wrapped round the area, like a great bubble of colourlessness.

The inhabitants of this world were not anything like the typical life on Earth. The Shinigami were a bizarre species indeed, the kind of organism that, although similar in behaviour and complexity of thought, were almost certainly paraphyletic. Some, like the Shinigami Ryuk, were almost human-like, except with grotesque, shark-like teeth and a hunched gait that clearly indicated a different spinal structure. Another Shinigami, Midora, was far more reptilian in morphology, yet stood upright like a human. Others defied even comparison with the creatures humans were familiar with, such as the many-eyed Calikarcha.

Yet, despite their morphological diversity, there was one thing in common with the Shinigami: all were dissatisfied. Some were too proud to admit it, others simply didn't care, but some knew full well they were, and hated every moment of their life. Such a Shinigami was Ryuk.

Staring out into the blank space that his world mostly consisted of, Ryuk sighed to himself, then resumed his current task- writing down a set of human's names he had memorised within some kind of notebook. Waiting a short while, Ryuk made a guttural, raspy noise that seemed to indicate satisfaction.

"Ah... yet I'm still not full..." Ryuk muttered to himself.

A couple of Shinigami were watching Ryuk in fascination, looking on at the Shinigami as if there was something terribly wrong with him, despite them looking just as wrong in entirely different ways.

"Why does that guy keep writing names in his Death Note? Surely he's got more than enough years left for now..." a Shinigami with a cattle skull for a head named Gook remarked.

"Beats me." a vaguely humanoid Shinigami with a scythe named Deridovely replied, "He seems to get a strange kick out of seeing humans die. At least he'll never let himself die. Can't wait to see Sidoh's face when he finds out that Ryuk's taken his death note..."

"How long has Sidoh got left?" Gook asked.

"I don't know, something like ninety-four million units?" Deridovely replied, "...about seven cycles of the Human World around their star."

"...ha. Well, as long as the notebook doesn't get lost." Gook mumbled, "...Ryuk likes a joke, but if it gets out of hand, Sidoh could end up dead..."

"Something tells me Ryuk may want that to happen..." Deridovely mused, and then called to the Shinigami in question, "...hey, Ryuk, why don't you come over and play some skull-scree with us?"

The tall, emaciated-looking abomination turned around, and shook his head, "No thanks. I got bored of that crap ages ago. I might go sight-seeing..."

"Seeing how hard you work, you'll have all the time in the world to go sight-seeing." Gook pointed out, "Just one game... come on, Ryuk. You should be a little more sociable..."

"No thanks." Ryuk smirked, taking out a second notebook of his which had the title 'Death Note', "I've been occupying myself in a different way. I've learnt how to write words other than names in English, and have filled Sidoh's notebook with stupid English rules. Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Um... I guess..." Gook unsurely replied.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a walk and look over the human world..." Ryuk said, turning dramatically and walking in an overly clumsy manner, before tripping up in a telegraphed and obviously deliberate manner, "Oops!"

The notebook flew from his hands, and went quite the distance before dropping into a large hole in front of Ryuk. Both Gook and Deridovely looked at Ryuk in a form of disapproving horror.

"Ryuk... did you just..." Gook began to ask.

Ryuk put on a false act of panic, "Oh no! Whatever shall I do? That was Sidoh's notebook! I need to retrieve it for him before a human picks it up! Please don't tell Sidoh! I'll be right back!"

Deridovely grinned wryly, "Don't worry, Ryuk. We won't tell. Now, hurry up and get it back!

Ryuk picked himself up, and wings sprouted from his back. He ran up a little, before taking to the air, first flying upwards, and once he was directly above the hole he had dropped his 'procured' notebook into, he dive-bombed in a manner closely resembling a hungry gannet.

_Ffriddoedd site, Bangor, Wales, the Human Realm, midnight, November 4th 2012_

Ffriddoedd site, a small university-owned area at the top of a hill in Upper Bangor, North Wales. The area was little more than a set of buildings devoted to student flats, all given ridiculous names in the Welsh language, a language which confused even Shinigami due to its odd use of the Roman alphabet.

It was currently late autumn, and the sky was pitch black, with not even a moon to light it up. There were, however, countless artificial lights that lined the paths, and several sources of light coming from the windows of the buildings where restless students were staying up, either partying or simply relaxing, but unable to sleep.

One student which fit the latter category was a young man by the name of Matthew James Dave, a resident of the 'Enlli' building. He was simply sitting at his computer, typing away at a meaningless comment on a meaningless YouTube video, passing the time until his mind finally gave up and forced his insomniac body to sleep.

However, his stomach was not willing to let that happen, and was consistently gurgling, as if to remind him that he couldn't sleep on an empty stomach. So the scruffily dressed, ready-for-bed man did anything other than go to bed, but instead got up from his chair, shut his computer down, picked up his key-card and wore it round his neck, put on his coat, and put a large pair of headphones on his head. Slipping on some shoes, he walked out of his room, feeling his pockets for money.

"Damn it..." Matt mumbled to himself, "Why do I always get the munchies in the middle of the night... ugh... to late stop I go..."

Putting on his music player, Matt walked at an unnaturally fast pace given his tired nature, and, in the absence of people who could see him, began to move to his music as if dancing while he was walking down Ffriddoedd hill. Just as he got into the swing of things, however, his music player suddenly stopped playing, and he got his music player out of his pocket, and pressed a button on the top of the small, cuboidal device.

"...damn... out of power." Matt mumbled to himself, and took his headphones off, wearing them around his neck, "Oh well. Guess I'm less likely to get jumped this way."

Finally, the young man got to his local late-stop shop, and bought himself a large packet of tortilla chips, before heading back up the hill which his campus was built on. Walking back onto the Ffriddoedd site, Matt heard a small flapping noise that suddenly came to a halt, like something with paper had fallen through the air before hitting the ground. Turning towards the noise, the man walked up to the object which must have fallen.

It was a small notebook, most likely size A-five. On the front of it was a two-word title; 'Death Note'. Picking the strange book up, Matt mumbled, "What's this?"

Opening the book, Matt found more writing on the inside cover. This body of writing, however, was a little more word-rich. It read as follows:

'How to use it:

The human whose name is written in this note shall die

This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

The Death note will not affect those under 780 days old.

A death note will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times.

If a death note is lost or stolen the owner will lose ownership unless it is retrieved within 490 days.'

Matt stopped and thought to himself. Was this some kind of joke? It was a pretty strange joke if it was. Not only that, but who dropped it? It sounded like it had fallen from a fair height. He looked up at the closest building. The 'Glyder' building. Whoever was there was a pretty weird person for throwing something like this on the floor. Hell, they were probably laughing at him right now for checking it out.

He picked the notebook up, and went to the nearest of the large, green waste bins which were filled with student waste. He opened up the lid of the bin, yet something... something odd stopped him. All of a sudden, curiosity struck him. What if this thing was not some prank? In that case, where _did _it come from? Thinking about it, Matt couldn't remember seeing any windows on the side of Glyder that was closest to the notebook being open, and even then, the windows didn't open widely enough to let someone throw a book this far, even from the top floor...

So, with that, Matt closed the waste bin's lid, and took the strange book home with him. He walked through the Ffriddoedd site, finally making it back to Enlli and going straight back to his room on floor two. Shutting his bedroom door, he thought to himself a little.

What if this thing was real? And actually killed a person who's name was written on it? An agnostic, Marine Biology and Zoology student, Matt believed that while it seemed unlikely that a caring, creator God existed in this world, that the existence of the supernatural was always a possibility. He believed that humans were subject to limitations based on their ability to perceive the world, just as a flatworm is, but to a lesser or different extent. Thus, anything that was supernatural was merely a facet of the world that limited human understanding could not grasp. He always thought that such a thing would manifest itself in the form of a four-dimensional being, or an alien which is sufficiently advanced to the point where they may well be considered 'Gods' to humans.

However, to think that a supernatural object could manifest itself in such a simple, easy-to-comprehend form jarred Matt somewhat. It challenged his world-view, and thus interested him greatly. This niggling feeling in the back of his head was enough to drive him to test it.

But who would he try it on? Who could he honestly say he wanted dead? Was there anyone in this world who truly deserved death, even in the past? His mind cycled through the infamous examples... the founder of the Ku Klux Klan, Jack the Ripper, Adolf Hitler... then it hit him. A Neo-Nazi. A famous one. One which had been all over the news. Anders Behring Breivick. Responsible for a sequential bombing and mass shooting at the Worker's Youth League. He was violent and unrepentant, and had only received a term of twenty-one years, with a minimum of ten years if he 'behaved'. No-one would miss him. His death would be nowhere near an equal 'eye' for the countless 'eyes' that he had taken, but then it hit him- if he had six minutes and forty seconds to specify the cause of death, he could make him be punished as much as he wanted.

So, Matt wrote down in Biro pen 'Anders Behring Breivick, Suicide: Comes to the horrific realisation that what he did was truly wrong, gets consumed with self hatred, and dies from blood loss by repeatedly hitting his head against his cell wall.'. As he finished writing, he began to breathe heavily. What was this feeling? Like he was satisfied, yet frightened to death? The reality that this may actually occur horrified Matt, and suddenly, he yelled, "No! No! How do I stop it? Okay, six minutes and forty seconds... something in here's gotta be about erasing this writing..."

Looking and the back inside cover for more 'rules', Matt found a blank, black cover, and began to hyperventilate, "No! No!"

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. Turning to the door, he stammered, "...um... hello?"

A woman's voice, who clearly had a northern accent, called from behind the door, saying, "Matt, are you okay? I'm trying to sleep... I've got a lecture at nine."

"I'm fine, Halley..." Matt mumbled, "...sorry about that... um... yeah, sorry."

After a brief silence, the sound of walking and a door shutting was heard, and Matt went back to panicking, looking at his digital alarm clock, "Huh? Twenty two past? Only two minutes left..."

Finally, Matt decided on scribbling out the name sloppily, and gasped, "...hopefully that'll fix it..."

After calming down, Matt decided to go to bed, but his mind was too occupied with thought. What if it was real? What if it really happened? And the death really occurred? No, it was totally ridiculous. If there was something able to induce death at will, it would be beyond his scope of reason. Neither he, nor any human, would be able to see it. The only way it would be able to willingly kill things with any cause is if it were simultaneously everywhere and able to manipulate every facet of three-dimensional reality. No such being would be grossly simplified to a mere notebook able to be commanded by a human in the form of writing on it. Why would it even need to understand human language? It would probably communicate non-verbally, and would absolutely not allow humans to control it...

But no matter how much he tried to rationalise the situation, the terrible guilt danced through Matt's conscious and subconscious thought, ripping away any hope of sleep. In the end, Matt lay down in his bed, and kept hoping that tomorrow would come and simply be another day...

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, six-fifty ante-meridian_

The display of the alarm clock in Matt's room switched from '6:49' to '6:50', and with that, began to beep lightly. Almost instantly, the very much awake Matt turned off his alarm, and quickly, neglecting to put on clothes or get his breakfast, the first thing he did was turn on his computer.

Waiting for it to boot up, Matt's rate of breathing became increasingly frantic, as if his lungs were under strain from the fear. Once he logged in, he instantly opened up 'Google Chrome', and opened up a new tab.

Searching 'BBC news' into Google, Matt waited a few seconds, and looked at the home page of the website, and scrolled down to the 'most popular' section. Number three on the list was, to his horror, 'Anders Breivick commits suicide in Oslo Prison'.

Matt exhaled in shock, "...it's... it's coincidence..."

Clicking on the link for further information, the story went on further to say that Anders Breivick broke down in tears, and repeatedly hit his head on the wall, declaring 'Sorry, I'm so sorry', and collapsed before officers could restrain him and prevent fatal blood loss.

"No... no... it can't be..." Matt looked down at the still-open notebook on his desk, and read over the cause of death he had specified next to the scribbled-out name, "...he... regretted his actions and... killed himself... so..."

Matt grabbed the Death Note, and closed it quickly. He was a murderer. He had killed a man. Not only that, but he tortured him before death, giving him a conscience and making him suffer enough to commit suicide. This was beyond wrong... what he had done was _evil._

Matt quickly threw on some clothes, and took the Death Note outside. He marched towards the bins, and said, "Goodbye forever..."

However, something stopped him, and he shuddered as a particularly horrific thought came to him. This thing was clearly beyond science. Beyond three-dimensional space itself. Burning it would probably not do anything. Neither would ripping out the pages. And throwing it away, like he was going to do just then, was certainly a bad idea. Anyone could get their hands on it. No, the only way he could help with this notebook is to make sure that the wrong people didn't get hold of it. That meant keeping its existence a secret, and never using it again.

Matt turned around, and walked back into the Enlli building, and made himself some breakfast, feverishly hiding the deadly book in the back of his clothing wardrobe. Today was a lecture on the organismal diversity of Molluscs, and he knew that his friends would just ask him where he had been if he didn't attend...

_Floor two kitchen, Enlli building, Ffriddoedd site, five-twenty post-meridian_

Walking into his flat, Matt walked into the shared kitchen, too afraid to enter his room. He quickly made himself some Bolognese, and ate his tea in a rushed, unnatural manner. He had managed to cook his tea at a time when nobody else seemed to eat, and seemed relieved that he didn't have to talk to anyone today. He had used the excuse that he wanted to listen to the lectures earlier in the day, but it would be harder to avoid facing people in his own flat.

After finishing his meal, he finally brought himself to go back into his room, rushing to the kitchen door to open it, however, a well-built, somewhat handsome man entered the kitchen as he did, and said, "Hey, Matt. How's things?"

Matt was tripping over words, as he was already under strain by the prospect of being in the same room as a supernatural force of controllable death, and the added pressure of keeping up appearances was too much to handle, "I'm fine, thanks, Dan... I'm gonna go to my room, I got studies to do, you know what I'm saying?"

"Oh... okay. See you later..." Dan replied, and got to opening a ready meal, leaving Matt to his own thoughts.

Matt scrambled to his room, and sat down at his desk, holding his head in his hands and whimpering a little, "...I'm a murderer... a murderer..."

Another voice interrupted his soliloquy, however, saying, "Hey, don't feel so guilty. Death comes for all humans, and making it come quicker is really no big deal."

Matt turned to the source of the voice quickly, and upon seeing the monstrous creature that was now standing over him, he froze in terror, trembling a little as he did.

"...what's the matter? If you're so frightened and filled with guilt, why did you write the name in the first place?" the hideous creature asked, "Oh, by the way, if you'd have crossed the name out with two ruled lines, that would negate the death of the human you killed..."

It took a while for Matt to come to forming full words, but when he did, he simply asked, "What are you?", shivering the whole time.

"I am a Shinigami. My name is Ryuk." the creature answered matter-of-factly, "That Death Note belonged to me. And if I were you, I'd start using it more than just that once. Because I could have just picked that notebook up and taken it back to my home if you hadn't wrote that first name down. But because of that, I now have to stay down here, with you. That means that you'd better make it worth my time..."

"...that sounds like a threat." Matt said, with more than a hint of apprehension in his voice.

"...well, that's because it is." Ryuk stated, "You'd better give me a good reason to stay here, because otherwise, I'll simply write your name in _my _Death Note... that's right, I have two. It's part of a code between us two..."

"A code?" Matt asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That notebook is used by our kind to extend our own lives. We have to use it to continue existing." Ryuk explained, "All of us have to kill humans to take their lifespans for ourselves. But when we drop our Death Note into the human world, a human such as yourself can use the Death Note. If that happens, then the ownership is transferred to that human, and the original owner, in this case, myself, has to follow that human around until that human dies. Part of this arrangement also includes that I have to write your name in my Death Note when your time to die comes."

Matt gulped, "And... and that time can be any time you want, right?"

Ryuk's vicious-looking smile widened, "That's right. So... you'd best have a good idea of what you're going to do with this Death Note... and if you don't, then you could always give it away and forfeit ownership, but if you do that, then I'll have no choice but to erase your memories of ever knowing about the Death Note's existence."

Matt briefly considered this option, but then remembered that one of the reasons he hadn't thrown it away was fearing that it may fall into the wrong hands. Feeling a little more confident, he stood up to Ryuk, still dwarfed by about two feet.

"...can't I just destroy it or something?" Matt asked, "I wouldn't want this thing to fall into the wrong hands..."

Ryuk smirked, "...go on. Try it... but I will simply kill you before you do that. Do you want to know why I dropped this Death Note down here?"

Matt quivered, "Do I want to know?"

"I did it because I was bored..." Ryuk answered the question he proposed, ignoring Matt, "...I wanted to come across a human who would keep using the Death Note, and keep me entertained... while you _can _burn up the Death Note, I'm not going to forgive you for ruining my chance of fun. Do you understand? I _will_ kill you if you simply destroy your notebook. By all means, give it away, but if you destroy it, I will not hesitate to take away your ample lifespan and add it to my own."

Matt looked into the fish-like eyes of the monster. There was neither mercy nor hatred in his eyes, merely a kind of bizarre pleasure as he watched Matt break. Finally, he said, "...well... seeing as I killed Anders Breivick, a truly evil man... I guess that the only way I can keep you happy and still do good for this world is if I use this thing to kill murderers. That way I'll be saving more lives than I am taking, right? That's more or less justified, isn't it?"

Ryuk chuckled with a grating wheeze, "...justified? What do I care? Death is a meal to me. Do what you want, I don't care. As long as you're not just going to hide it away and be a 'responsible human'. That's not fun at all... and that's the only reason I'm here."

"...you're a sick, twisted bastard, but, you know what, you're not a human." Matt replied, becoming a little more comfortable with Ryuk's presence, "All animals have their own degrees of what they consider right and wrong, and you Shinigami are probably the same. You operate on an entirely different wavelength to us. I must say, though, you must be pretty smart to impersonate us humans' calls like that..."

"And you seem to understand how I'm thinking pretty well..." Ryuk replied, "So I'd say you're smart too. Now, how about you use that brain of yours to figure out your next victim?"

Matt shuddered. This was a prison. He'd resigned himself to a prison. The only way he could ever be good in his, or anyone's eyes ever again was if, when he obligatorily killed, he killed people who 'deserved it', or killed others... and having the persistent threat of death under his nose meant that no matter how hard he tried to escape from his murder, there was no way he could, now that the constant reminder of his use of the Death Note was following him like a shadow...

Author's Note: Hello. This is Duwee Davis II (or perhaps Troy McLure). You may know me as the writer of the _still _incomplete '100 days of Mother/Earthbound' and the 'Touhou Doujin' series. Well, now I'm trying something completely different.

I've decided to do a 'what-if' scenario, in which if a different person to Light Yagami were to pick up the Death Note. Notably, Matt is different in that he hasn't got the emotional strength of Light, nor the ridiculously high levels of intelligence, yet also lacks his megalomania and is more sociable, plus he lives in a communal setting (a university hall of residence) rather than his own home, allowing for different potential ways to get 'rumbled'. Hence, the story should branch out in a way that, although having the same core concept as the original Death Note series, will undoubtedly be distinct from the original.

I managed to salvage the 'Gappy Stu self-insert' genre of Touhou fanfic with my 'Touhou Doujin' series (or so my fans think), so hopefully I can redeem the 'self-insert becomes Kira' genre of Death Note fanfic with this piece. We'll have to see.

I hope this turns out well...


	2. 02: My Kingdom for an Apple

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 2- My Kingdom for an Apple**

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, six-fifty ante-meridian_

Once again, the alarm clock in Matt's room changed its display to show the numbers '6:50', and began to beep incessantly. Matt was less willing to get up this time around, and had been hoping that by going to sleep, he would wake up from the nightmare that he had found himself in yesterday.

However, upon opening his eyes, his first sight of the day was the hunched, grey-skinned monster which had appeared in his room the night before. Matt was too tired to react with horror, and simply muttered, "So this _is _really happening..."

Reaching down from his bed, he turned off his alarm clock, and muttered, "Have you been watching me sleep this whole time?"

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "So what if I have? You're not allowed to be mad at me..."

"Don't you Shinigami need to sleep too?" Matt asked, "If you have to follow me around, then you'll need to use my time sleeping as your opportunity to sleep..."

"...good point." Ryuk admitted, "But I had a nice long nap before paying you that little visit..."

Matt scratched his head, "Okay, Shinigami... how am I going to walk around the flat without people seeing you?" Matt suddenly came to a terrifying conclusion, and looked at the Shinigami in fear, "...you... don't expect me to kill my flatmates just to keep this thing secret, do you?"

Ryuk laughed to himself, "You may not have noticed, but I walked through your flat door to get in this room. I guess I'm like what humans call 'ghosts'..."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, "So... only I can see you?"

Ryuk nodded, "Yes. Only you can see me."

Matt got out of his bed, and put on a pair of tattered, well-worn black jeans, "...what if someone else gets hold of the Death Note and starts killing with it? Will I stop seeing you and you'll start following them instead?"

"Only if you forfeit ownership." Ryuk explained, "Otherwise, it takes four hundred and ninety human days for you to lose ownership. The human who touched the notebook will, however, be able to see me, even if I'm not following them."

"I see..." Matt mumbled, and put on a buttoned shirt, "Well, I guess as long as this Death Note's in my room, I can eat breakfast in the kitchen like I normally do..."

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Well, aren't you boring..."

Matt smiled, somewhat calmer in the presence of Ryuk, "Well, yes. You can get used to that, as well. I have many other things to work on... killing murderers may have to wait a while..."

"Why? What have you got to do that's so special?" Ryuk asked.

"...for starters, I've got to go shopping. I don't know about you Shinigami, but we humans need to eat to survive..." Matt replied, "You know... even if I'm now a cold-blooded murderer, I'll be interested to examine you as an organism, Ryuk."

Ryuk cackled to himself, "Well, you're not going to cut me up like you do the other animals in this world. There's no way for a human to kill a Shinigami..."

Matt smirked, "...so, you saw through that one?"

"You're beginning to think more like a Shinigami now, aren't you?" Ryuk asked, "...perhaps you'll be more fun after all..."

Matt looked downwards, and walked out of his room, "I'll have to be..."

Eating his breakfast in silence, Matt resisted the urge to respond to Ryuk in a room where everyone could hear him, and finally had a shower, put on his coat, shoes, and headphones, and decided to go out to a large shop called 'Morrison's'.

Bobbing his head to his music, Matt quickly walked in temporary gleeful ignorance of the Shinigami who was now hovering over him like a vulture waiting for him to die. The Shinigami in question, however, was anything but gleeful.

"Hey! Hey! Human! I'm talking to you!" Ryuk called, "Hey! Can you hear me? What are those infernal ear coverings?"

Finally, Ryuk grabbed one of the headphones and pulled it away from Matt's ear, and said, "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!"

Matt quickly slapped away Ryuk's hand, and looked around to make sure no-one saw the mysterious levitation act that his headphones would have performed to the average person. Once the check was finished, he muttered, "...what?"

"I just thought it'd be a shame if your ignorance caused you to get hit by a truck..." Ryuk said, "...when I speak, I want you to answer..."

Matt scowled, "I get it, alright? What do you want?"

"Well, I was wondering when you were going to kill someone..." Ryuk replied, "Because if you don't do it soon..."

"...tonight, alright?" Matt mumbled, continuing to walk and trying to stay inconspicuous, "In future, don't talk to me outside of my room..."

Ryuk smirked to himself, "...well, I personally think it's fun to see you try and hide it from the other humans..."

Getting to the bottom of Ffriddoedd hill, Matt crossed the three-way junction and got to 'Morrison's', walking into the somewhat crowded store. Suddenly, an idea struck Matt as to how he could speak with Ryuk in public.

Getting out his mobile phone, Matt put the device to his ear and said, "Hey, Rich, buddy!" while looking at Ryuk, "Rich! You hear me?"

Ryuk turned his head, "Huh? What are you doing? You haven't called anybody..."

However, after a moment's thought, Ryuk understood the situation, "Ah, I see... 'buddy'."

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you want anything! I mean, you're so thin that I don't know if you eat anything, but, well, it'd probably kill me if I didn't look out for ya, know what I'm saying?" Matt continued in an over-the-top 'odd nice guy' act.

"Well, I do quite like apples from the human world..." Ryuk replied.

"Oh, okay. See ya later, man!" Matt concluded, and pretended to end his 'call'.

Picking up a bag of Granny Smith Apples, four chicken breasts, a Cajun spice mix, a packet of Chilli-flavoured Tortilla Chips and some rice, Matt headed to the checkout and paid for his items at the self-service machine, having to pay five pence for a bag to take it home in.

Walking out of the store, Matt got out his phone again, and said, "So, Rich, I got you Granny Smith Apples. Anything you wanna say to me, buddy?"

Ryuk snickered, "...you sound so stupid when you talk like that... can I have an apple now?"

"Whatever you say, man..." Matt replied, and 'hung up', stopping so that he could get out an apple. He decided to cross the three-way junction, stepping into the yard of a small church. Walking so that he was out of view of the general public, he tossed Ryuk an apple, and said, "There you are. This should keep you happy for a while..."

Ryuk gorged the apple whole, and made various unnatural-sounding noises that most likely indicated satisfaction, "...oh, that's the stuff... apples from the human world are truly delicious. But... not delicious enough to make me let you off. If you don't entertain me, then I'm afraid you'll be useless to me... and you don't want to be useless to a Shinigami."

Matt surprisingly managed to be sarcastic despite being threatened with death, "So you keep reminding me. Look, I think I know a man that... you know..."

Ryuk laughed to himself, "Oh, is that so? Who is that?"

Matt shook his head, "I'm not going to say here. Wait until I get home. Isn't fun all about suspense to you Shinigami?"

Ryuk stopped for a moment, then said, "We Shinigami never worry about being caught, so there is no suspense. That's why humans are much more interesting..."

Matt sighed, "I see..."

Walking back to his flat, Matt unpacked his food into his cupboards, and took the packet of tortilla chips into his room with him. Finally, Matt sat down at his desk, and booted up his computer. Standing up, he walked to his wardrobe, and gingerly took the notebook he had, only yesterday, resolved never to use again.

Placing it on his desk next to his computer, Matt turned to Ryuk, "Look, Shinigami, I'm going to feed you, and only I, got it? I don't want you stealing my flatmates' food. It's just not right."

"You'll soon stop caring about 'right' and 'wrong' if you're going to kill several humans..." Ryuk pointed out.

"Well, the people I have in mind would probably have been killed for their crimes if they were in the Middle East, or even in America." Matt replied, "The Americans may be flawed in many respects, but I honestly think some crimes do deserve death... I just didn't think _I'd _end up being the one to carry out that sort of stuff..."

"So... killing a human is fine if they have killed another human, yet killing the human which kills that human is unjust?" Ryuk asked.

Matt shook his head, "No. What I'm doing is undoubtedly wrong. What can I say? I'm a coward. I don't want to die... there's so many things I want to do..."

Ryuk cackled to himself dryly, "Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. All humans who come into possession of a Death Note experience nothing but terror and pain before they die."

"...is that so?" Matt muttered, "I imagine a psychopath with one of these things would enjoy it far too much to suffer terror or pain. They'd just be glad they could torture and kill their victims at will..."

"Not at all..." Ryuk replied, "Those sorts of human are the closest to we Shinigami. They aren't discrete, and don't try to hide their crimes. Guilt doesn't torture them... but the humans who capture them... do."

Matt sighed, accepting he had no choice but to take Ryuk's word for it, and finally began to access the internet, and brought up a Wikipedia page entry, "...here's the man that I'll kill for you. Ian Huntley. He killed two young girls and pleaded insanity unsuccessfully, as well as attempting to plead for manslaughter. Even his family want him dead. Recently he managed to appeal for parole successfully. While I don't think he'll kill again, there's no way his life is going anywhere. He probably wants to die himself... so I figured that he would be a legitimate choice..."

Ryuk tutted with indignation, "You're trying to convince a person who does not think in human terms that you have a human conscience. Why should I care?"

"You're right." Matt replied, "All that matters is that I and other humans believe it's right... at least, to me. Now, tell me, Ryuk, when specifying the cause of death, can you specify events prior to one's death that have absolutely nothing to do with the cause of the death?"

"Why should I tell you that?" Ryuk asked.

Matt stopped, and thought of an incentive for the Shinigami, "Well, how about I use this man to buy a crate of apples and mail it to me before he dies, that way I can keep you well-fed and not willing to kill me without having to pay more money than necessary- I'm a student, money isn't exactly infinite for me."

Ryuk seemed taken in by Matt's act, "Oh... I see. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I don't know, even if I wanted to answer your question. So you'll have to find out for yourself..."

Matt cursed himself internally. Now he _had _to make the man send him a crate of apples, even though he wasn't genuinely planning on doing so.

"Fine." Matt replied, "But the crate should arrive tomorrow at the earliest, so for now, that packet of apples in the kitchen will have to do. I'll make sure you don't eat them in one go by keeping them in the kitchen, meaning that..."

Ryuk glared at Matt, "If you don't bring those apples in here so I can eat them whenever I want, I'll kill you. And if this plan works, I expect you to send me crates of apples regularly..."

Matt clenched his fist. He was being out and out bullied by this Shinigami, but given his intangible and clearly superior form of life, Matt accepted that he had to let himself be bullied to survive. Perhaps if he kept being kind to the horrific creature, he would become more reasonable.

"Fine..." Matt muttered, and walked to the kitchen, and brought the pack of apples into his room.

As soon as the room door was shut, Ryuk began to stuff apples into his mouth, and said in a muffled manner, "Hey, Matt? You gonna write that human's name down or what?"

Matt sighed, and said, "I'm so sorry, Ian Huntley... you never know, you might have changed... but now we'll never know. Goodbye..."

Writing the name down, Matt caught Ryuk watching him over his shoulder, and so he wrote in the specifics as he had promised:

'Ian Huntley: Accidental Death. Walks from his home at 10:30 ante-meridian, and buys a large crate of apples from his local greengrocer for a generous sum of money. He then walks to the local post office, and mails the crate of apples first-class to the address 'A212, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, Ffriddoedd road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2GB'. After that, he experiences a euphoric sensation, feeling truly happy with himself, and becomes unaware of an approaching car on the road. He dies quickly and painlessly from a head injury at 10:55 ante-meridian, and the driver of the car stops and calls the ambulance to no avail.'

Ryuk sniggered to himself, "You're being a little specific, aren't you?"

"I don't want him to suffer..." Matt mumbled.

"Then why didn't you just make him die of a heart attack?" Ryuk asked.

"Well, I'm imagining that you are going to have me kill many criminals..." Matt replied, "...and if you do that, then it'd come off as odd that so many criminals are dying by heart attacks every single time, right?"

"But no-one can accuse a normal human of causing a heart attack realistically, can they?" Ryuk asked.

Matt turned to Ryuk, "No. That's not true. Open-minded humans will accept that there are things that human science cannot explain in this world. If several people die of heart attacks, then someone... not necessarily a popular person... will begin to believe that there's some kind of force causing these heart attacks. And the more this pattern perpetuates, the more people will begin to believe this view, even if it starts off being ridiculed. It's how science works- an unpopular world-view that later is supported by evidence becomes scientific fact. Galileo, Mendeleev, they all started that way. And I don't want the next Galileo getting onto me."

"But that still doesn't explain how specific your cause of death was..." Ryuk said.

"Actually, it should." Matt continued to explain, "If someone dies like this, it comes off as believable. Like it could have been a coincidence. If a murderer dies from being hit by a car, and the next day another murderer escapes prison and gets cornered by the police, causing them to kill themselves, would people associate the two deaths? No, they would simply assume that they were everyday deaths. People die every day. And all I need to do is make my deaths seem like they're part of that..."

"So, in other words, you're going to become a force of nature, an addition to fate's job of ending lives?" Ryuk asked.

"Of course not. I'm only doing this because I'm afraid to die... and even more afraid to let a truly evil person get this thing." Matt said in a defensive manner, "I may be selfish, but I'm not sadistic. And I'm certainly not a force of nature."

Ryuk stopped and smiled to himself. He could see Matt's resolve crumbling. His pathetic attempts to justify himself. His unsure denial that he was in some way empowered. This human would eventually come to think of himself as a force of nature. That's the belief Ryuk held as the human in question clearly was trying to oppose such a shift in attitude.

Finally, Ryuk said, "Congratulations, Matt. You've made your first true kill. I'm so proud of you..."

Matt suddenly cocked his head, "Hold on... you just referred to me by name..."

Ryuk shrugged his shoulders, "So? I did before. What's the problem?"

"I don't remember ever telling you my name..." Matt tried to recall all the time spent with the Shinigami thus far, "And I haven't spoken to anyone in your presence who's said my name... how did you know? Have you been watching me?"

Ryuk began to burst into laughter, starting at a faint giggle before working himself into a frenzied laughter, "Oh... you want to know? You want to know how I know your name?"

Matt was taken aback by how animated the creature had become, and unsurely said, "Yes?"

"It's my eyes. I didn't bother telling you about them because I figured you wouldn't be interested anyway..." Ryuk answered.

"Interested?" Matt indignantly replied, "I already told you that I'm a biologist... I'd be very interested to find out the structure of your eye... go on..."

Ryuk made a condescending grin, "That's not what I meant... we Shinigami are able to see with our eyes a human's lifespan and name, just by looking at their face. We know instantly..."

Matt rubbed his chin, "What do you mean? So, like how a snake's vision consists of heat detection because its prey are always warm-blooded?"

Ryuk nodded, "Exactly. It's an adaptation, if you will, that enables us to survive a lot better than if we didn't have these eyes. It's actually a real shame that most humans can't see through these eyes..."

"...hold on... you said 'most'. What do you mean by that? Are there humans who have these eyes?" Matt asked.

Ryuk cackled loudly before he continued, "..._this is what I meant by 'interested'..._"

"Hold on..." Matt said, "...am I able to attain these eyes somehow?"

"...you're pretty clever, aren't you?" Ryuk remarked, "I didn't want to tell you, to be honest. It'd be more fun without them, anyway. But... yes, you can obtain a Shinigami's eyes. The price for obtaining them... is half your remaining lifespan. I can only make this deal with the official owner of the Death Note, so as long as you keep hold of that notebook, you don't have to worry about people who've stolen your notebook using the eyes to see your name. But, basically, if you want, you can make the deal with me. All that I ask for is half your remaining lifespan... a small price to pay, wouldn't you say?"

Matt thought for about a second before coming to an answer, "Absolutely not."

"What?" Ryuk asked, somewhat confused by the speed of his reply.

"I have no need for them." Matt answered, "I'm only going to kill murderers, well-known ones at that so I'm able to gather enough information on them that I know it's right to kill them. Why would I need to know the names of anyone who aren't well-known when I'm killing these kinds of people? It's certainly not worth half of my lifespan."

Ryuk took an apple out of the considerably more empty pack of apples, and chewed on it a little, and said, "Well, it's your loss. Honestly, I don't understand you humans sometimes. Clinging to life so feebly, when you, like everything else on this planet, will eventually die."

Matt looked down in thought, and tried to muster an answer to that question. Finally, he said, "Well, we humans like to think that there's such a thing as 'quality of life'. That life can be enjoyed. Ultimately, most humans do enjoy life as long as others don't make them suffer through either selfishness or sadism. So most humans, although they know they'll die, will still want to live for as long as possible."

Ryuk laughed wryly, "You're a hopeless dreamer. Life has a very different meaning to we Shinigami. Our lives consist of sitting around, gambling or sleeping. We harvest life, we sleep. That is our lives. We exist more than we do live. That's why I wanted a little fun..."

"Well... I can't help but agree with that sentiment." Matt admitted, "From what I can gather, you're doing far more than just imitating a human's call- you actively communicate and convey complex ideas. A cognisant creature like yourself needs some meaning to their life, especially if they are as long-lived as your kind."

"Are you treating me as if I am an animal?" Ryuk asked.

"We are ultimately all animals, myself included. We humans really need to get off our high horse and accept that." Matt suddenly found himself thinking that he could end up using that logic to justify his murders, and quickly changed his tack, "But of course, that doesn't mean that humans should do what other humans consider to be wrong. Integrating into a society and doing what's best for the species is a feature of all social animals, humans included."

Ryuk grinned. This was it. He _had _broken. Soon, he would become like every Death Note user since the Shinigami records began... selfish and addicted to murder- the most entertaining kind of human. However, he still needed a push.

"Now, if you don't mind, Matt, I expect a crate of apples next day, as well, so you'd best find another person to kill or I'll get impatient..." Ryuk passively threatened.

Matt responded in a nonchalant manner that the Shinigami didn't quite expect, saying, "Look, I've got a lecture at twelve, so if _you_ don't mind, it'll have to wait."

"Insolent human..." Ryuk muttered, seemingly attempting to sound God-like yet with very little lustre.

Author's Note: Sorry that nothing much has happened in this chapter. It has, however, introduced a vital gimmick to the story I intend to write.

Can any of you readers guess it? If so, then... I guess subtlety's just not my thing, heh heh.


	3. 03: Writing oneself into a corner

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 3- Writing oneself into a corner**

_Dean Street Lecture Theatre, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, two weeks later_

Within a fortnight, Matt had managed to kill exactly fourteen British criminals on parole, all in a different, yet somewhat suitable manner. He had forced an unrepentant rapist to castrate himself and die of blood loss shortly after, and had caused a gangster who had accidentally killed a child in the midst of a gang war to die after anonymously placing flowers by the child's grave before collapsing from food poisoning.

However, one thing he had been forced to do, hence his choice of British criminals on parole in particular, was have every single one of them buy a crate of apples and send them to his address, and every single day barring weekends, when the Ffriddoedd mail office wasn't open, he would pick up the crate from the criminal which had died two days prior, and thus he was keeping Ryuk somewhat satisfied.

Sitting through his lectures, Matt had been writing in a very different kind of notebook on the morning of November the twentieth, and seemed to have been getting away with it despite the sociological strain of concealing his guilt was at breaking point. Quite suddenly, within a lecture, Matt turned to a friend of his, and whispered, "...hey, Gary... can I ask you something?"

Gary, a mature-looking, bearded student with a far more manly face than the almost child-like face of Matt, turned to his friend and whispered back, "...sure... but you almost never need to ask about the lectures, it must be something big..."

Matt shook his head, "It's not about the lectures... Gary... you know rapists?"

"Uh... yeah?" Gary asked, somewhat put off by the morbidity of the discussion.

"...do they deserve to die?" Matt asked.

"Well, considering most of them don't hesitate to do it again, I'd say they do." Gary replied, "Why'd you ask?"

Matt shook his head, "I don't know. Really it's something I should ask Halley, what with her being a criminology student. Guess I'm wondering whether the death penalty should be brought back..."

Gary closed his eyes calmly, "Well, it's not like we have any say in it one way or the other."

"...yeah, I guess I just think too much..." Matt mused.

"That's certainly true." Gary said with a laugh, "Anyway, I haven't got any notes on Cephalopods, so is it okay if I listen to the lecture?"

"Yeah... sorry." Matt replied, coughing after he apologised.

Ryuk, who was standing in the left stairway of the lecture theatre, looked over the situation with a patronising grin, "You sure are defensive today, aren't you?"

Matt glanced at the Shinigami, before looking back at his lecturer and scribbling down some notes.

Once the lecture was over, Matt walked with his group of friends, carrying on discussions with his friends and ignoring Ryuk, even when he spoke up. It seemed that Matt was becoming more confident with ignoring the Shinigami now that he had settled into a routine regarding his 'appeasement' of Ryuk.

"Hey! Hey, Matt! Stop talking with your stupid friends and listen to me!" Ryuk shouted.

Matt continued to talk to his friends about the lecture, and the party he was attending that night, causing Ryuk to become a little exasperated.

"Matt! Okay, just listen, even if you can't respond..." Ryuk said, and brought his head close to the just about sane student, "...you'd best find time in between your stupid parties to pick up my apples today..."

Matt paused, and once he let one of his friends finish what he had to say, he said, "...uh, is it okay if we stop by the mail office on our way back to the halls?"

"NO!" a man called Mike sarcastically blared, before saying, "Of course, I need to check my mail anyway."

"Guess we might as well all go, then." Gary said, and a murmur of approval suggested Matt was free to do as Ryuk said.

Matt put his hands behind his head, "I'm glad. Oh... Bitch Hill..."

'Bitch Hill' was the name the students gave to an incredibly steep hill which separated Upper and Lower Bangor, one which was either an exercise regime to climb upwards sober or a slapstick comedy routine for anyone going down it drunk. It was, however, the fastest way for students to get from their halls of residence to their lectures, and thus was a notorious hill indeed.

Climbing up the hill slowly, complaining all the way, the five people Matt was walking with began their usual rants about the hill, all while Ryuk laughed a little to himself.

"It must be difficult for a human student, having to walk everywhere." Ryuk commented, "Then again, humans with cars are more likely to have a fatal accident, so I guess that walking isn't too bad..."

But while Ryuk was content enough to joke about his situation while his entertainment monkey barely retained who he was, there was a certain set of humans who were less content with the situation, and seemed to have noticed a certain... odd streak in current events.

_MI5 surveillance and intelligence sector, Thames House, London, England, during former events_

An anonymous agent known by the alias of 'Derek Deacon' was walking into the room he considered his office during what seemed like a relatively quiet time in the Military Intelligence's fifth section, and sat down at one of the many computers that seemed to line themselves in rows at the surveillance sector of the MI-five Headquarters.

Even though the room in general seemed rather relaxed, the man in question was somewhat stressed, as he had noticed a bizarre pattern in recent deaths of criminals. It had seemed that every day, one major criminal that had recently been released for parole had shortly after died, each by varying causes, but all consistent in that the pacing of the deaths were daily, and every single one exhibited bizarre behaviour before they had died.

Namely, there was one thing which standard surveillance of the paroling individuals had revealed before their deaths- they had all recently bought large amounts of fruit at their nearest greengrocer's and then gone to their local post office prior to their deaths.

Although the surveillance had initially been to ensure that no members of the public would be harmed by the paroling criminals, the surveillance had now become more to do with checking for suspicious behaviour before death. Their best theory at the moment was that there was some kind of illegal smuggling operation being fronted by an organisation willing to hire only the worst of the worst, and once their jobs were over, they organised their deaths to act as a way of making sure their mules stayed silent. And currently, Derek Deacon had been placed in the group of agents in charge of looking over all current paroling major criminals in Britain, part of a team of one hundred and fifty, waiting to see if the criminal they happened to be watching over took part in this 'smuggling operation' and died during that same day.

Surely enough, today would be the day that he personally would notice the 'death of the day'. Switching to another CCTV camera's view as his current angle obscured the path of a certain potential 'free criminal' named Zahoor Ahmed, a man who was on bail in Kingston-upon-Hull for a rape trial, and the man was already showing signs that he could be the next to die. He was walking towards a shopping centre called 'Prince's Quay', and had withdrawn a large amount of cash from an ATM.

The agent began to sweat as he saw the man walking into the shopping centre, heading straight for 'Marks and Spencer's: Food'. Once there, he began to speak to the cashier, and seemed to be negotiating something with him. After a short while, the cashier produced a small box, and Zahoor Ahmed walked to the grocery section, and took seven bags of apples from the area of the grocery that had fruit, and returned, placing the apples in the crate. Finally, the man paid for the fruit, and left.

Derek Deacon quickly changed his camera feed again, and as he did, pressed a button on his head-set, "Sir, we may have our 'daily death' right here..."

"Oh? Any signs of planting illegal goods in the fruit crates?" a man's voice asked.

"None at all. This time the shop cashier actually got out a crate and let the potential victim fill the crate himself..." Derek Deacon replied, "...if this is the smuggling operation we think it is, it's got to be incredibly well-coordinated. I doubt that a simple shop cashier is in on this smuggling, even if this Mafia are able to hijack supplies of greengrocers that arrive via lorry..."

"Have you recorded the footage you're taking?" the voice asked.

"Yes, sir." Derek replied, "I shall send it to you if Zahoor Ahmed dies."

The agent continued to watch, occasionally switching view, and eventually the man walked into the middle of a large dual carriageway, and allowed himself to be hit by a large, red car.

"...huh? Sir, Zahoor Ahmed has just died! He just... stopped. He walked into the middle of the road and let himself get hit, and the car didn't even try to stop..." the agent quickly said, panicking a little, "I don't understand... surely a drug smuggler wouldn't willingly _let _his superiors kill him to keep him silent..."

"Perhaps they were blackmailing him with evidence that could have tipped the favour against him in his upcoming rape trial?" the man on the other end of line suggested, "Have you managed to follow the car that hit him?"

"Sir... the red car just vanished! I tried to keep track of it, but the second I switched cameras, it was as if it was never on the road..." Derek said, his voice wavering.

"This is as bad as I thought..." the man muttered, "This criminal plot is as confusing as the Los Angeles BB Murder cases... we may need to contact Wammy's house. I'll appeal to the higher-ups for Wammy's House's involvement in this case..."

"W-Wammy's House? What's that, sir?" Derek Deacon asked.

"Supposedly the home to some of the greatest detectives in the making there are. While I know it's in England, I know no more about the place. The man who trains these detectives is a man who goes by the name 'L'..." the voice explained, "...they're the best of the best, or at least, that's what the higher-ups say. Send me the footage of the death, the events leading up to the death, and most importantly, the disappearance of the car."

"Yes, sir. Right away..." Derek concluded, and pressed a button to stop the recording software on his computer. Accessing the MI-five Intranet, he used his mailing service to send a message that had the footage he had just witnessed attached to a person known as 'Quartermaster001'. Sending it, the man exhaled deeply. This case certainly felt... unusual, not a typical covert smuggling operation.

The idea that organised crime could be this... well, organised, was a frightening thought to the many agents who were working on this case, and it seemed that the more they theorised on the nature of the so-called 'Mafia' that was working on such a widespread and seemingly random scale throughout Britain, the less likely they were going to understand the situation and be able to act in a way that would lead to the stopping of the elaborate smuggling operation...

_Wammy's House, Winchester, England, one day later, around ten o'clock ante-meridian_

Quillish Wammy, an ageing, yet successful man, had been proceeding through the day as he normally did- by supervising the children he so dearly loved to work with. Although his fellow supervisor, Roger Ruvie, despised his job as a caretaker, Wammy seemed to enjoy every moment of it, perhaps in part because he was glad to see the one orphan he had invested so much time into doing what he could only say made him proud.

He was sitting beside a laptop computer, looking at the screen and listening as attentively as the children sitting in front of it were, a stoic expression belying his satisfaction.

The computer itself displayed a letter 'L' in the 'Old English MT' font, and was relaying a slightly altered version of a man's voice, who was talking to the children in an almost indifferent, yet bizarrely invested manner, "So, if you ever want to make a particularly unpredictable suspect accidentally confess their guilt, the best thing to do is claim you have a vital piece of evidence against them that is undeniably false to anyone who knows the details of the crime intimately, thus they will give away that they are at least partially involved in the crime... as an example, imagine a man stabbed a woman, and the police had recovered a knife from the crime scene. If you have all but concrete evidence yet a good reason to suspect a killer, the first thing you should tell them is that their fingerprints were on the knife. If they are a..." L cleared his throat over the computer before continuing, "...loose cannon... then they should refute your theory with something, like 'that's ridiculous, because I was wearing gloves'... or at the very least that _the killer _wore gloves. Hence they reveal vital information with little effort on your part..."

The children were clearly impressed, with the exception of an odd-looking, white-haired child who was simultaneously listening and solving a thousand-piece milk puzzle at the back of the room, who's facial expression was neither impressed nor unimpressed.

Wammy, who had been simply sitting in silence, suddenly got up, and got a mobile phone out of his pocket. He answered the call, saying, "Roger? What is it? Someone's requesting Watari's presence? Requires the service of L? Which organisation? I understand..."

Hanging up, Wammy turned to the computer, and calmly said, "L. The MI-five are requesting your assistance in a case. They claim that it requires someone of your deductive abilities..."

The children of Wammy's house looked to each other, chattering away with excitement. The computer itself, however, remained silent for a while, before it finally said, "What is the nature of the case?"

"They said that they would only share the information with you within the MI5 headquarters..." Wammy replied.

The computer seemed to let out an artificial sigh, "Well, children, it seems that the MI5 are wanting to waste my time, whether I want to waste my time solving a case or not. If the case is interesting, you may have to go without my teaching for some time, and that most likely will mean Roger will be left in charge..."

A simultaneous groan from the children was heard, but among the noise, one quiet voice said, "Would we be able to observe your work?"

The group of children turned to look behind themselves, to the person who had asked the question. The boy didn't even look at the crowd as they turned to him, and continued with his milk puzzle as he spoke again, "...I was wondering if we could be kept up to date with the case..."

L's voice seemed to waver, "The MI-five are understandably fickle about who they allow to access their information and who they do not. After a certain... case with a former Wammy's student, the British Government's trust of Wammy's undergraduates is not exactly high. While I cannot promise you that you will know every detail, I assure you, I will share as much information on the case as possible... that is, provided I want to work on it."

The white haired boy's facial expression seemed to mildly change, if only for a moment, to a smile, "...thank you, L."

"Thank you for approaching your training seriously, Near." L complimented, "It's good to see dedication in my potential successors..."

"I was going to ask that too!" a tall, thin, and rather irritable-looking orange-haired boy shouted.

L sighed, and said, "But, Mello, Near got there first. And getting there first is all that matters. Because, no matter how close you are to your victory, if you don't actually win, you won't get a chance to win again... at least, in real crime-solving..."

Mello scowled, looking at Near bitterly, "Yes, L..."

"Hey, chin up. I'm pretty sure that one day both you and Near will make fine detectives. Even if you don't become 'L', you'll be a great detective in your own right. I think the title 'M' suits you..." L said, a hint of tenderness in his artificial voice.

Wammy cleared his throat, and said, "L, I think it is time that we headed for Thames House..."

"So it is. Goodbye for now. Hopefully, you'll get to see first-hand how detective-work operates..." L concluded, and Wammy proceeded to fold the laptop up, taking it with him as he walked out of the room.

_MI5 Briefing Room, Thames House, London, around one post-meridian_

The majority of the MI-five intelligence task-force had been called into the briefing room of their headquarters, for the purpose of receiving orders from a mysterious person who was supposedly so unique that he was beyond the hierarchy of the MI-five, and beyond the hierarchy of any government organisation, for that matter, yet was intimately involved with the affairs of all of them.

While some knew the man as 'the world's greatest detective', and others just called him 'the secretary-general', assuming he was affiliated with the UN, most of the higher-ranking agents of the British Intelligence knew this man as 'L'. Despite them all having their own thoughts on the man, very few of them believed that he existed, and assumed he was actually a representative of an organisation, some kind of mouthpiece for something greater.

So, when a tall, slowly-walking man wearing a large, black trench-coat, large fedora hat and face-concealing mask walked into the room, stepping in front of the large audience who had gathered in the briefing room, the area quickly fell silent, wondering what was so important that they had to call such a man over.

Placing a laptop on the table at the very front of the room, the silhouette opened it and faced the audience. Finally, he spoke.

"Greetings. I am the one known as Watari." the man declared, his voice carrying surprisingly well given his mouth covering, "I was called here by the Head Quartermaster of MI-five, and have been discussing a particular case with certain divisions of the surveillance team. After much thought, L has decided to take on the case. L would now like to address the MI-five..."

Pressing a button on the laptop that was beside him, soon a letter 'L' appeared, not only on the computer screen, but on the wall behind 'Watari', provided by a projector at the very back of the room.

"Greetings to all staff of the Military Intelligence, Section five. I am L." the familiar altered voice echoed throughout the room, "I have been recently been informed of a rather odd case indeed. I am indeed aware, thanks to analysis of the news available to the public, that as of just over two weeks ago, one serious criminal which happens to be on parole or on bail, or otherwise free, has died by one cause or another. This information alone made me believe that this was either simple coincidence, or perhaps an incredibly travel-savvy vigilante determined to kill criminals he didn't want to see roaming in the public, making his kills by spiking food and using cars to obscure their identity. However, information not made available to me include the behaviour of such criminals before their deaths. After finding out about this, my thoughts on this case changed. From the records provided to me by the board of Quartermasters, I was surprised to see that every single criminal that died while on parole happened to buy a large crate of fruit from their greengrocer before death, mailing it to an unknown location before being killed in some way. While some died by causes that were certainly caused by external forces, like being hit by a car, or food poisoning, some of these seem likely to have been forced by, as the Quartermasters have suggested, a Mafia, or other form of organised crime. However, this is not an impossibility. The rapist who castrated himself, for example, could have been being blackmailed, and been so genuinely guilt-stricken that he would kill himself in a painful manner. However, others, like the not-yet-convicted Zahoor Ahmed, had no such reason. If he was being blackmailed by the theoretical Mafia, he would by all means perform the operation, but to walk all the way to a dual carriageway and allow himself to be hit by a well-organised Mafia member's car? It seems pretty contrived to do such a thing, even if he believed that life imprisonment was worse than death, to go to such a length to go along with their plan to keep him silent? It seems unlikely. Thus, I propose that this smuggling operation is something a lot more sinister... like they are able to control the minds of their 'mules', or at the very least, are able to manipulate them to the point that they are suicidal. This is perhaps why major criminals are being targeted. The goods which they are smuggling I have yet to ascertain, but for now, the only thing we can do is this... we need to predict the next criminal that will be used. If we can do that, then we can send two agents. One will find out the location which the crates are being sent to by following them until they are finished in the post office, and another will continue following afterwards to confirm their death. Is that understood? Once we figure out where the goods are headed, we can see who it is that's picking up the goods, and from there... how... and why they are doing it..."

One voice called from the crowd, "But L, how will we be able to predict the next Mafia victim?"

The artificial voice seemed to be happy with this question, and replied, "Simple. You may have noticed that all the criminals who have been used for this operation have only been released from their respective prisons within the last five days... while many criminals are always on parole, with pairs of agents only being dispatched for the recently released criminals, we'll have more than enough agents for the job yet be almost guaranteed to come across the next victim..."

The Military Intelligence team seemed genuinely impressed with the man's suggestion, and nodded with approval. 'Watari' decided that enough was enough, and said, "L has concluded his address to the British Intelligence. Good day to you..."

"...no, I haven't." L interrupted his assistant, and continued, "I have one request to make of MI-five which is voluntary. My organisation, known as Wammy's house, has a set of children set to be the world's next generation of greatest detectives. If it is not too much to ask, would you be willing to share information with Wammy's house? The Quartermasters have authorised this, but I will only fully authorise this on the entire organisation's permission... please raise your hand if you will allow this sharing of information..."

The room became alive with discussion, and finally, hands began to raise. After a short while, the majority of the hands in the room were raised.

L seemed to hum through his computer, "...I see. Eighty percent of the room are willing to share information with Wammy's house. In that case... this investigation shall prove to be a great learning exercise for all of my students. Thank you for your co-operation... that is all for now. Goodbye."

With that, the laptop's screen became black, and the image on the wall also faded to the same colour, with 'Watari' folding the laptop over and taking it under his arm. Looking to the crowd of agents, the disguised man concluded his visit with three words...

"Good luck, gentlemen..."

Author's Notes: Surprised?

Well, you shouldn't be! L was one of the characters on the general info on this fic! While Team Kira's canon characters are gonna be absent, why the hell shouldn't Team L's? I mean, Wammy's House is even in England! That's like the posh, north-east, less sheep-rich Wales! Or is Wales just the weird-talking sheep-covered version of England? I'm not really sure...


	4. 04: Students from the mid-alphabet

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 4- Scholarship Students from the mid-alphabet**

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, six-fifty ante-meridian, four days later_

Matt had begun to become accustomed to never lying in, even if he didn't have morning lectures. His routine had become set in concrete: research for potential paroling criminals, pick up his daily crate of apples at the mail office, decide on the cause of death for said criminals, go to lectures, and study at the library, not necessarily in that order but always including every single facet. He also had to work in going to the gym to the routine every other day, and so, combining this with unexpected social events, Matt's life was a rather packed and stressful one.

Getting dressed, Matt walked out of his room with a rather tired-looking expression on his face. Ryuk was beginning to wonder if he should have just pressured the man into forfeiting ownership so he could find himself a stronger user of the Death Note.

"Matt?" Ryuk asked as his pet human walked down his flat's hallway, "Matt? Everyone else is asleep from the party you went to last night. I checked their rooms especially! So talk to me!"

Matt looked to Ryuk with a hateful expression on his face, "Just shut up, you wretched beast. I don't want you spying on my friends while they sleep. It's enough that I have to put up with your crap..."

"May I remind you that..." Ryuk began to say, but surprisingly, Matt seemed to have evolved a backbone.

"JUST SHUT UP!" Matt yelled, and started gasping, before lowering his voice to a whisper, looking Ryuk directly in the eye, "Look, Ryuk. I've done more than enough to entertain and feed you. You have personally ruined my life and all hopes of having a simple, fun time at university. If I don't want to talk to you, then I damn well don't want to speak to you. Got it? Now, shut up and stay behind me. I'm the one going to the mail office to get you these apples every day..."

Ryuk stared at Matt for a moment, and then grinned. From now on, things were going to get far more fun... as long as Matt kept snapping like this in public. Laughing a little, Ryuk finally replied, "This is more like it, Matt! Please, get more angry!"

Matt folded his arms and turned away from the Shinigami, and walked out of the Enlli Building. After walking to the other side of the Ffriddoedd site, Matt entered the site's mail office, handing the postal worker his Student ID. After a brief wait, the woman returned with a fairly small, yet heavy crate filled with apples.

Taking the crate with him out of the mail office, Matt looked at the top of his delivery as he carried it. Cocking his head, Matt said, "Hold on... something's wrong..."

"What do you mean?" Ryuk asked.

Matt smiled, and said quietly, "Well, for one, I don't feel like taking all these apples home..." and proceeded to raise the crate into the air, before throwing it to the floor, smashing the crate into splintered pieces and leaving the bruised and battered apples to roll helplessly across the floor while Ryuk gazed in horror.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ryuk shouted.

Matt reached into his pocket, and got out his phone. After faking a call, he said, "Hey, Rick. It's Matt. You know the healthy eating apple delivery subscription? It's gotta go..."

Ryuk growled, "If you're gonna talk in your stupid code, I can wait for real answers! Tell me what the hell that was all about in your room..."

"Whatever you say, you crazy dog! See ya later, man!" Matt said, 'hanging up' on his call. Walking back to his flat, Matt finally got into his room, while a clearly incensed Ryuk entered shortly after.

"Okay, we're alone. Now tell me what that remorseless, senseless cruelty was all about!" Ryuk yelled.

Matt nodded, "Fine. Remember when I started killing for you?"

"Yeah..." Ryuk answered.

"Well, at first, I made sure that they mailed the apples to my room address..." Matt said, "But recently, I've also made them to write the address on top of the box directly as well as on a paper note on its side, leaving a small pentagram shape at the bottom of the address..."

"So what?" Ryuk asked, "That doesn't explain why you smashed my day's fix in front of my very eyes!"

"Well, when I looked at today's delivery, the address was written on top of the box, just like normal, but it was missing the pentagram..." Matt mused, "That means someone had gone to the effort of unscrewing the top of the crate, and then replacing the top afterwards, almost but not quite imitating the original top of the crate... someone's checking the crates of apples... not only that, they're keeping the original lid... that means that the police may be onto me."

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Guess that means you're in trouble. I'm not letting you stop this..."

Matt raised his fist, and almost decided to punch the Shinigami, before stopping himself and saying, "You're kidding, right? Now the police are involved, shouldn't you no longer need apples to stave you off? Things can only get more 'interesting' for you now!"

"But thanks to your... kindness, I guess I've been spoilt rotten..." Ryuk replied, "I'm pretty much addicted to apples now. I guess you could say... it's like how most of your friends are with alcohol..."

Matt scowled, "I see... well, in that case... I have a different plan. Ryuk, how easily can you go through walls? You were clearly able to check that my flatmates were asleep, so can you do this for me?"

"Do what?" Ryuk asked.

Matt darkly grinned, half-glancing at Ryuk, "I'm no longer going to send the crates of apples to my address..."

"WHAT?" Ryuk screamed, holding his hands to his head.

"Calm down and let me finish." Matt said, a tad of sarcasm in his voice, "I am, however, going to send it to various room numbers and buildings on the Ffriddoedd site. I will, by all means, make sure the apples are in the mail office. However, I will not pick them up, because I only live in room A-two-one-two. You can do that for me..."

"Huh? What do you mean? I can't just take solid objects through walls with me, you know!" Ryuk replied.

"That's not my intention." Matt replied, "My intention is this... I will destroy the next two days' incoming deliveries of apples, but from today, I will vary the addresses that the apples are delivered for. This means you'll have to go cold turkey for two days, however, you're going to like this next part..."

Ryuk twitched a little, and said, "Huh? Why?"

"Because, I'm now going to make two criminals die and sent a crate of apples each every day, just so you go along with my plan." Matt said, "Basically, instead of picking up the apples, I will stand next to the mail office building, during which you go through the mail office wall. There, you'll find the crates containing the apples, and eat all the contents without opening the boxes, that way, if the student who's address I'm using goes to check his mail, he'll just receive a strange, empty crate. This way you're satisfied, and I stand less of a chance of being caught for... whatever crime they think I've done. Maybe they think I'm evading tax on apple delivery or something. But whatever it is, if the police start investigating me, they could find out that what I'm doing's far worse... anyway, what do you say? Is it a deal?"

Ryuk's eyes narrowed, and his head began to twitch more frequently, "That seems fair... but asking me to quit apples for two days is to much. You're buying me a pack of apples... _now_."

Matt shook his head, "I hate you so much..."

"And I'm liking you more and more..." Ryuk said with a grin, "...now you're even killing more often... you're upping the amount of deaths just to sweeten a deal with me... and here's me thinking you had human 'principles'..."

Matt looked to Ryuk with a pair of glazed eyes, "I thought you didn't care about human morality. Remember?"

"No, but it's funny to see that _you've _stopped caring..." Ryuk pointed out.

Matt suddenly became defensive, "This is a means to an end. If I have to kill scum-bags to ensure my survival, I will. It's not like I'm harming society by writing these guys off, anyway. Hey, Ryuk, does the Death Note work even if the pages are torn out of it?"

Ryuk stifled a cackle, before saying, "You changed the subject quickly, didn't you? I don't know, but probably. Only the Shinigami King knows what exactly the Death Note is, and whether its affected by its physical state..."

"I see." Matt said dismissively, "Well, I'm gonna keep some on me just in case. I'll test it out by putting some pieces of it into my Organismal Diversity notebook and I can multi-task as I work on an essay in the library."

"But if someone accidentally touches it, they'll be able to see me... it's a little risky if you ask me..." Ryuk warned.

"Ryuk, have you seen my handwriting?" Matt asked, a somewhat wry smile on his face, "No-one wants to copy my notes. I may be the one people like to study with, but I am the translator of my notes. There's no way someone would want to try and read my notes themselves. That's what my digital copies are there for."

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "It still seems pretty risky to me..."

"Just shut up and roll with it, alright? Isn't risk fun to you Shinigami, anyway?" Matt asked.

"Well, I just don't want you to start becoming all depressed when you end up having to kill your friends just to keep me a secret..." Ryuk muttered.

"That won't happen." Matt promised, hoping he would be able to keep it, "I'll burn the pieces of the Death Note I use right after I use them, and only keep them in my biology notebook when I'm alone."

"Aren't you Mister Careful?" Ryuk remarked, "I'd hate to see it blow up in your face..."

Matt smirked, "Ryuk, I'm pretty sure even your kind are above lying..."

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Oh? Was that too obvious?"

_MI5 surveillance and intelligence sector, Thames House, London, England, three days later_

While MI-five had many other issues to deal with, now a large, but not dominant, section of the surveillance sector had become a new base for both L and his team, a set of surveillance agents who were willing to actively watch out for the latest criminals to die. 'Watari' and his computer were sitting at the centre of the ordeal, with the people who weren't at their computers checking through CCTV camera footage waving evidence at the web-cam of the laptop.

L muttered, "So... A-two-one-two, Enlli... A-three-two-two, Enlli... B-two-two-four, Borth... A-zero-three-two, Peris... all repeated twice. The first was over two days, while the next three addresses were obtained from the same day from different post offices... the speed of the killings has increased... it's like they have... somehow found out that we're onto them, for the pace of the deliveries to increase after a two-day lag... show me the first lid again..."

An agent held up a square crate lid up to the web camera, and after a pause, he said, "Oh... please can you bring the agent who was tailing the criminal that day?"

The agent nodded, and walked away, and after a short while, brought back a tall, elegant-looking woman.

The woman seemed rather proud of herself, and said, "What is it, L sir?"

L decided to bait the woman, "...Miss, can you please tell me your name?"

"I'm agent Suzanne Frost, sir. Infiltration and reconnaissance expert!" the woman declared.

"Well, Miss Frost... you've provided me with an important clue..." L mused through his computer, "I admit, if it wasn't for your actions, I would not have spotted this..."

The woman blushed, "I just do what I can..."

L laughed a little through his computer, "Yes, you did just as well as I'd expect an agent of MI-five to do... you replaced the lid of the crate you obtained this from?"

"Yes, sir! I also checked the crate for any suspicious items, but none were found, sir!" Agent Frost vigilantly said.

"...so you _were _responsible for that error, then..." L finally got to the point.

The woman's disposition fell, "What, sir?"

L sighed through his computer, "The only reason we didn't confiscate the entire box for a proper analysis was to avoid being noticed by whoever's responsible for this. We would just take the lid for inspection and investigate the contents before placing a new lid on the crate that had an exact replica of the address written on it..."

"O-o-of course, sir!" the rapidly decomposing agent stammered.

"So, why did you forget the pentagram below the address?" L asked, "Don't you see? That's what was odd about this address... the pentagram is probably the way the 'Mafia', or whatever is responsible for this, tells their members that it's an address relating to their job. Or at least, clues them in on whether their goods have been tampered with. And you fell for it, hook, line and sinker... but, from this, I can certainly deduce one thing. Although the pace has increased, and the deaths are being organised at opposing ends of the country, seemingly to throw us off, that there is common ground. Whatever is responsible is operating from the Ffriddoedd site, Bangor, North Wales. And is now aware of our movements. We'll have to be discrete from now on..."

"How do you mean, sir?" an agent next to him asked, while Suzanne Frost walked away from the area in shame.

"...well, what I'm truly interested in is how these murders are being organised. To do that, we're going to have to look at the Ffriddoedd site closely, but without any official presence..." L said, "...if you want to do things my way, then just say, otherwise you can simply choose to arrest all four of the people who live at the addresses and confront them with circumstantial evidence that they could easily deny... what I intend to do is find out what exactly the aim of this smuggling business is, and how they are organising the deaths of the criminals... especially yesterday's case, which involved a heart attack... how a criminal organisation manages to pull such a feat off certainly needs close, in-depth, and most importantly, _undercover _investigation. And, quite frankly, Miss Frost's little mess-up has proven to me that your agents may not be up to the job of infiltration, especially not of a residential site for university students, as most people here are too old to be regular first-years eligible for living in Halls of Residence. So I have an alternate plan..."

_Roger's Office, Wammy's House, Winchester, a few minutes later_

Roger was sitting in his office, not really doing much beyond staring at a Goliath Beetle that made up one of the largest specimens in his insect collection. He occasionally checked his desktop computer for changes, but for the most part, he was sitting there, bored and dreading the next lesson he'd have to spend with the children of Wammy's House.

This was in part why Roger preferred the presence of Near to the others- his attitude was anything but childish, playing with toys aside. Not to mention that he was the third oldest child in the house, younger than only Mello and the third-smartest child at Wammy's- a boy who's alias was the rather normal-sounding 'Matt'.

Roger stopped thinking to himself as his computer began to beep, and after clicking an icon on his computer, Roger said, "Hello?"

A certain disguised voice spoke through the computer, "Hello, Roger. Please can you summon Near and Mello to your office?"

Roger let out a mildly disgruntled tut, and said, "Fine..."

Walking out of his office, Roger headed down the old-looking corridors of Wammy's house, eventually entering the common room, causing the lively atmosphere in the room to instantly die, and said, "Excuse me, please can I have Near and Mello for a moment?"

While Mello instantly got up from his activities and headed for the door where Roger was, Near remained crouched on the floor, stacking matchsticks to form a tower.

Roger hung his head. Even though he found Near to be the most tolerable child as a _person_, he certainly had some insufferable mannerisms.

"Near! Now, please!" Roger shouted, causing the rest of the common room to burst into laughter.

Near turned away from Roger slightly, before finally standing up. When the boy walked, it seemed awkward and unnatural, like it was a rarity for him to engage in locomotion at all. Mello laughed a little, "Nice one there, Near. Smartest in Wammy's! Ha!"

The three began to walk back to Roger's office, and on the way, Near looked to Mello from the side, "I happened to beat your score in the most recent exams by five percent. And given your consistent record of around two percent inferior test scores to my own, I can quite soundly claim to be the most intelligent in Wammy's for the time being. However, I am not going to doubt that you are skilled, Mello. I was working hard on creating the Empire State Building, and I know that if I were to leave it incomplete that our fellow students would destroy all my works..."

"Oh, what's the matter, Near?" Mello asked mockingly, "Are you going to cry when you find it all smashed?"

Near's face formed into a dark smile, "Not as much as you did when you found out Matt beat you in the mid-semester exam on analysis of Media Censorship..."

Roger resisted telling the pair to shut up, and simply said, "That's enough, Near..."

Mello smiled slightly, and said, "Thanks for taking my side, Ro..."

"You need to be quiet too." Roger interrupted the youth, "Both of you need to know something... L personally requested your presence. This could be important..."

Near smirked, "Yes, Mello. Please take this seriously..."

"You started it!" Mello shouted.

"I think you'll recall that you mocked my status as the one who is consistently superior to you and will never catch up to. That triggered the rest of the conversation." Near stated.

"Shut up, Near! Just shut up!" Mello snapped, before Roger raised his hand for a moment, suddenly disconcerting the two youths into being quiet.

Once they reached Roger's office, both Near and Mello sat on the floor, Near in a crouched, hunched position, and Mello in a relaxed, open-legged position. Roger turned his computer's monitor around, and showed them the image of the letter 'L'. Finally, Roger sat at his desk, and turned the web-cam on his desk around to face the two Teenage Genii.

"Ah. Hello, you two. How are things?" L's voice asked.

"Just fine..." Mello replied, while Near was clearly thinking of a response.

Finally, the white-haired boy said, "...what has happened in your case that is urgent enough to only contact the two of us about?"

"...ah... very good, Near." L replied, "Your deductive skills are quite amazing..."

Mello became indignant, "Hey! I knew something special was going on! I just didn't want to state the obvious!" Mello truthfully shouted, despite the context making it seem like he was merely feigning intelligence.

L stopped for a moment, expecting an argument to break out, and once it was clear that Near wasn't interested in provoking Mello any further, he continued to talk to the two, "Near mentioned something that is at the heart of this matter. Something has happened in this case that may require your assistance..."

Near smiled slightly, "_Our _assistance?"

Mello pumped his hands in the air, "Yes! Finally! A real case to show that I _can _be better than Near!"

L paused to allow for an argument once again, but once again, Near settled for simply maintaining a condescending, passive-aggressive grin, letting the man continue, "I have recently found out that the perpetrator or perpetrators of the recent smuggling incidents are people who are based on a Residential Site owned by the University of Bangor, North Wales. This site is known as 'Ffriddoedd site', and it has several buildings within it. Some three of which so far have been confirmed to be used by this proposed 'Mafia'. What I want you two to do is apply for a late scholarship in the university. I will pull some strings, and allow you to get rooms in the 'Enlli' Building, where two of the 'Mafia' members are based, as well as getting onto a course. Given that this is fully paid for, are there any preferences on your courses?"

Near looked down, and said quietly and quickly, "Architecture."

Mello stopped and burst into laughter, saying, "You aren't gonna get to build your stupid matchstick towers in that, you know..."

L decided to step in, and said, "Mello, do _you _have a course in mind?"

Mello smiled, "Easy. I'll double-bluff. I'll do Criminology and Psychology Joint Honours!"

"Good choice, Mello. Now, I shall have Mello as an eighteen-year-old student of high ability, while Near... due to his... young appearance, while be a sixteen-year-old child prodigy who got in due to his extraordinary skills." L proposed, "...but I would prefer it if you came up with your own aliases for when you get there..."

"Michael Cain!" Mello answered.

"Nathan Richardson..." Near mumbled.

"Good. I shall organise your entry into Bangor University with the British Government, and soon, you'll be living in Ffriddoedd site. I will give you both laptops with the ability to contact me on them. They will be linked to a 'Skype' account, which will lead to myself, meaning that, for the very first time, you will see my face. This is so that if your... flatmates notice that you're talking to someone in your room a lot, you can tell them that you're 'Skyping' an old friend. Maybe even let them speak to me if it will help you integrate with the student crowd. All that I ask is that you blend in... but remember these room numbers... because these are the students you need to spy on..." L paused, and made sure the pair were listening attentively, and then said, "A-two-one-two, Enlli building, A-three-two-two, Enlli Building, B-two-two-four, Borth Building, and A-zero-three-two, Peris Building. You will live on the first floor of the Enlli building. Mello will live in A-one-one-one, and Near in A-one-one-zero. Your goal will be to find the people who live in the rooms mentioned, more information on which will be made available to you via your laptops, and integrate into the student society, investigating them and any more revealed members of this 'Bangor Mafia'. You shall share any information with me..."

Near looked up at L with a little fear in his eyes, "But... L, I've never lived on my own before..."

"Near, you shall learn when you go there. Mello will take care of you if it gets tough..." L waited, making sure that Mello was listening, "_Won't you, _Mello?"

Mello clenched his teeth, and then looked to Near, "Fine..."

Near smiled, "Well, Mello, it'll be good to finally test our investigative skills together, won't it? We'll work together well, I'm sure of it..."

Mello grunted, "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

Near shook his head, his expression now neutral, "Not at all. This will be a learning experience on many levels, I can assure you. I'll even learn about architecture while I'm there too..."

Author's Notes: Um... yeah, not much to say about this chapter.

Um... kinda expected twist exclamation mark one exclamation mark eleven exclamation mark one?


	5. 05: A Mello Fellow that's drawing Near

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 5- A Mello Fellow that's drawing Near**

_A-110, Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, three days later, half past twelve post meridian_

After the somewhat lengthy and difficult moving in process, Near and Mello had managed to settle into their rooms at the Ffriddoedd site fairly well, with Mello adjusting to life the quickest out of the two. While he was out, taking lectures, Near had simply refused to go outside of his toy-filled room, instead relying on the lecture's power-point presentations that were available via the University Intranet to teach himself about architecture.

However, despite this meaning he was unable to gather new information on the university campus, he was the most reliable person for getting information from outside of the university grounds, and was constantly hunched atop his chair, checking his computer for 'Skype' calls from L, who he now had to address as 'Rue Ryuzaki'. If anyone asked, he was his distant pen-pal.

Near was reading up on the fundamentals of a structurally sound foundation when he received a call from L. Clicking the 'answer' button, Near said, "Hello. This is Near."

"Nathan, what have I told you?" L said back, his face in full view.

It was a rather pale, insomnia-riddled face covered by rather long, messy black hair, certainly not what Near thought he would look like despite the stories he had heard. Near stared a little at the screen, before he decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry, Ryuzaki. What news do you have?" Near asked.

"Well, I've just received evidence that adds another two addresses to the address list we have at the moment, leaving the total at seven addresses." L said, his voice clear and far more human-like, "Also... I have managed to do some research. The residents of the addresses so far are... Matthew Dave, of room A-two-one-two, Enlli, Frank Richards of A-three-two-two, Enlli, Cameron Baines of B-two-two-four, Borth, Hugh Jackson of A-zero-three-two, Peris, Nathan Griffith of A-two-two-two, Glyder, Natalie Turner of B-zero-two-two, Glaslyn, and Naomi Derbyshire of A-one-one-three, Peris. I'll send you the pictures of all seven of them via email, and you can deal with them as accordingly..."

Near nodded, "Thank you, Ryuzaki. Is there anything else?"

L looked at Near through the computer screen, and finally said, "Nathan, I've been going through the Architecture students, and none of them even seem affiliated the current known members of the 'Bangor Mafia'. However... there is a young woman on Michael's Criminology and Psychology degree course that lives right next to one of our Mafia members... Halley Motterspool, of A-two-one-one . I would like you to inform M of this immediately, and send him this picture of her. If he gets acquainted with her, we'll be that much closer to our goal..."

Near smiled, "To find out _how_ they organise the deaths of their mules..."

"What has Michael been doing as of recent?" L asked.

"He's been checking the mail office regularly for people coming to pick up crates of apples, but whenever he sees someone with a crate, they say they never asked for it and give it to him, and it's consistently completely empty. Mello- I mean- Michael says that they smell slightly of apples, but there's no actual apples in there." Near mused, and began to twist his hair, "...however, he says that someone is always hanging around outside the mail office every day at around eight-thirty, waits a short while, and then leaves again. Says the man has black hair, a squarish jaw, has a young look to him, and a thin build..."

L smiled a little, "Ah... Nathan, send Michael a picture of Matthew Dave along with Halley's picture, and ask him if the man looks like him. If it is, then we may get some clue as to the inside workings of the Mafia..."

"...understood, Ryuzaki." Near replied, and ended the Skype call.

Picking up a fairly old-looking phone, Near scrolled through his contact lists until he reached 'Michael Cain'. Pressing the 'call' button, Near held the phone up to his ear, waiting for Mello to answer...

_Just outside Wheldon Lecture Hall, Deiniol Road, Bangor, just before the former events_

Mello was in the Wheldon Building waiting outside the building's main lecture hall for a one o'clock Psychology lecture, and was by far the earliest one there. Sitting in the hallway, Mello got out a large chocolate bar, and unwrapped the top half of it, taking a large bite of the delicious cocoa-based treat, making a loud, echoing snapping sound as he bit down.

Chewing to himself in silence, Mello began to think to himself. This was boring and pointless. L hadn't sent them one piece of new evidence, and was clearly assuming they could simply figure the case out on their own without the assistance of police and MI-five information.

However, it was at this moment that the information he was internally complaining about seemed arrive just for him, and his phone began to vibrate.

Taking his phone out of his front trouser-pocket, Mello looked to see who was calling, and after acknowledging it as Near, begrudgingly answered it, "What is it?"

"Hello, Mello. I have new information pertaining to our mission here..." Near's voice practically whispered from the phone.

"Is that so?" Mello somewhat indignantly said, "And you have to call me 'Michael', remember?"

"But we're alone, so this shouldn't be an issue..." Near mused.

"How do you know that?" Mello asked.

"Simple. You wouldn't answer me as disrespectfully as saying 'what is it' if you were trying to keep up public appearances..." Near pointed out.

"Guess you're right." Mello admitted, "Anyway, what information are we talking about?"

Near began to state things in a matter-of-fact way, "I shall send you two pictures. One is of a man, and one is of a woman. The one of a man is Matthew Dave, one of the Bangor Mafia members, and someone you may have already seen. The one of a woman is his neighbour, Halley Motterspool. She is not affiliated with the Bangor Mafia as far as we are aware, but she is taking your degree course, and thus it would be in your interest to get close to her. If you do, then you'll be closer to Matthew, and perhaps we can acquire more information that way."

Mello smirked, "Good work, Near. Guess you are good for something... being a messenger boy!"

Near sighed through the phone, and said, "Mello, your attempts at humour are not successful."

Mello growled, "Well, neither are yours!"

"I don't attempt humour. I'm just stating facts." Near concluded, and hung up before Mello could say something back.

Taking the phone from his ear, Mello waited a while, holding his phone out until he received two picture messages, one with a picture of a certain individual he'd seen hanging around the mail office, and another with a picture of a young woman.

Mello checked the man's picture first, and hummed a little as his mind confirmed that it was indeed the same man, and then checked the woman's picture so he knew who to sit by.

Sitting back down on the hallway floor, Mello took to eating his chocolate in silence once again, until eventually silence broke itself, and the main load of Psychology students entered the hallway, jabbering away with their own conversations.

Mello looked around the crowds for the woman in question, and finally spotted her. She had shoulder-length, straight brown hair and a dark blue beanie hat, and was wearing particularly boyish attire to go with her feminine looks. She seemed to be wearing a football shirt under her brown, rugged outdoors coat, and he smirked. Common ground to establish.

Walking up to her, Mello said in an unusually chirpy-sounding voice, "Hi there! I don't think I've introduced myself..."

Halley looked at Mello with confusion, and said, "Um... yeah?"

"My name's Michael Cain, but everyone just calls me Mello. It's sort of a joke my old friends had because I used to be quite easy to wind up..." Mello fabricated on the spot.

"I see..." Halley said, pretending to care, "Do I know you?"

"I'm new to this university... I joined it only recently and so I'm a little behind... I don't suppose you could perhaps help me catch up with my notes..." Mello continued, knowing his next move had to be flattery, "I've seen you play football with the guys in the football society, and you know what, I can honestly say you show them women _can _play football... you're one team player. That's why I thought I could ask you. Is that okay?"

Halley shrugged her shoulders, "Sure. I'll let you into my flat after this lecture, and then you can borrow my notes for a while. But only copy them up there, my notes are important to me, okay?"

Mello grinned. This was too easy. "I'm sorry, I was so impolite... I forgot to ask for your name..."

"Halley." the woman replied, "So, how are you finding Bangor?"

Mello smiled, and took a bite of his chocolate, "Well, for one, I haven't found another place in Britain that sells Hershey's chocolate..."

Halley was a little unnerved by the aggressive way the young man ate, but continued, "The course interesting?"

"Yeah..." Mello lied, as he had already learnt most of the things he was currently learning in his basic teaching at Wammy's House, "...what course are you taking?"

"Criminology and Psychology." Halley replied, "You?"

"The same!" Mello replied, feigning excitement, "Guess that means we'll be seeing each other a lot, huh? Can I copy your criminology notes too?"

Halley sighed, thinking his overly friendly act was more than a little transparent, "Look, if you're thinking of asking me out or something, I have a boyfriend..."

Mello sweated a little, "Uh... not at all. Just wanted to make some new friends who were in the same lectures as me..."

"Oh..." Halley shrugged, "Well, just thought you needed to know the limits anyway. You wanna come to a flat party with us later?"

Mello couldn't quite believe how well this was going. He nodded, "Oh, yes! That'll be great! Then I can get to know all of you people a little better... where do you live?"

"Second floor of Enlli, the front side." Halley answered.

"Enlli? I live there!" Mello replied, once again acting as if it was some kind of coincidence, "First floor, the same side as you! Well, now I'll have something to look forward to..."

Halley checked her watch, and noticed that the lecture was most likely about to start, and so she walked into the lecture hall, Mello following her like a wolf pretending to be a puppy.

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, one o'clock post meridian_

Matt had treated himself to the closest thing he could call a lie-in, and had gone to hang outside the mail office so that Ryuk could receive his 'offering' in the morning, before heading back to his room to sleep.

However, he still only got up at ten, his body clock incapable of letting him catch up on sleep. He was currently writing down the two criminals he had convinced himself he _had _to kill for the day, making them die of an aneurysm due to stress and an acute lymphoma with metastases. Both of these deaths were quite easy to fake, and the second needed a delay of around two weeks at the very least to come into effect, making the police less likely to catch on.

"Ryuk, if I were to put 'acute lymphoma' on a time more recent than two weeks, what would happen?" Matt asked, "There's no way someone could get lymph cancer and die of it within a few hours even if acute with mets, is there?"

Ryuk stood still, acting as if he didn't know, "I have no idea. You're the clever-clogs..."

Matt shrugged, "Well, I presume anything like that's going to make the death default to a heart attack... and you know what? Perhaps it would be better if I made kills that way, rather than send these stupid apples everywhere. Instead, I should... make them send me money, then I can buy apples..." Matt stopped and thought, and then contradicted himself, "No. If I'm seen buying large amounts of apples, I'll only make myself look suspicious. This way's fine. I mean, I'm deflecting suspicion to several other students, some I don't even know. I'm safe. I wonder what the police think I'm doing... they don't honestly think I'm killing the people that coincidentally die after posting apples, do they?"

"Well, both you and I know it's true, and didn't you say something about this when you got the note?" Ryuk asked, "That originally, one crackpot will make an association and no-one will believe him, then as evidence keeps proving him right, more people will?"

Matt rubbed his chin. Ryuk was right.

"Hmm. I need to do something different..." Matt mused, "The police have probably begun investigating Bangor, it's been about a week since they've noticed that boxes were being sent to the Ffriddoedd site. What I need to do is change my pattern radically..."

"And how are you going to do that?" Ryuk asked, "There's no way I'm going without apples..."

Matt turned to look at the Shinigami, "Hmm. Perhaps I can extend them to international criminals and evade notice? Okay, the apples may take longer to get here, but at least then I know that national policing agencies aren't going to catch me..."

Ryuk chuckled, "I _love _how not killing someone is strictly off the menu now. I didn't tell you this before, but it's actually my job to make sure you use the notebook..."

"Shut up, Shinigami..." Matt replied.

"Oh. Another rule is that Shinigami have the right to kill the human they're possessing, even if it's only for the reason that they don't like them..." Ryuk mentioned off-hand, laughing as he did.

"Will you please shut up with the death threats?" Matt sarcastically retorted, "I'm starting to wonder if you actually mean it..."

"Oh, I mean it..." Ryuk said calmly.

"Okay, go away now. I'm getting some food..." Matt replied, concluding the conversation.

Walking out of his room, Matt walked into his flat's shared kitchen and was surprised to see two people sitting at the table- one being familiar, and one not so much.

Halley was sitting next to a young-looking, orange-haired man with a thin build and somewhat effeminate clothing. Opening his food cupboard and taking out a bag of tortilla chips, Matt asked, "Say, Hal, who's that?"

Halley looked away from the books in front of her, and said, "Oh, this is Michael Cain. He says people call him Mello, but honestly, I just call him Mike..."

"Huh? I've never seen you with him before..." Matt remarked.

The orange-haired man looked up at Matt, smiling slightly before taking a bite of chocolate. He answered, "Oh, we only just met today. I started late in the year and me and Halley are taking the same course... what's your name?"

"Oh, me? Matt Dave." Matt said, and laughed slightly, "...yes, the surname's spelt like the first name... it's actually an Indian surname that's been romanised, it's a long story... anyway, how's it going?"

"Oh, just fine." Mello replied, "Say, you wouldn't happen to be that guy who is always standing outside the mail office waiting for something? I think I've seen you there..."

Matt froze in fear, and stammered, "Um... yeah, that's right. I always stop to look at Snowdonia. The mountains look great covered in snow, don't they?"

Mello nodded, "Yes, they do... well, it was nice meeting you. Will you be coming to the party tonight? Halley says there's one going on."

A single bead of sweat ran from Matt's forehead to his temple, "...um... well, it depends..."

Halley folded her arms, "Depends on what? You haven't been going to parties for ages now! You always seem to have an excuse! You're going to this party, Matt..."

Matt smiled nervously, "Uh... well, I... okay, but I've got barely any money, I just need to buy some booze..."

"Oh, okay. See you later, then!" Halley replied.

Matt quickly walked out of the kitchen, and shouted, "Goodbye!" before walking out of his flat.

Running through the hallways and down the stairs of the Enlli Building, Matt left for the on-site shop, which was open at this time. As he did, he whispered up to Ryuk, "That kid knows too much. Who is he, anyway?"

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Oh, I don't know. So, what are you going to do?"

Matt smiled to himself, "Well, he gave his name away, didn't he? It's 'Michael Caine', like the cockney actor. I'm going to make sure he doesn't figure out any more. If he ends up reporting me to the police... or even worse, is working for them, then I could be in big trouble. I need to deal with him fast..."

Ryuk snickered again, "So, you're going to write his name down in the notebook?"

Matt shrugged, "Well, in a way. I'm going to use a scrap of paper from the notebook."

Ryuk nodded lightly, "Oh. Of course."

Finding a wall to lean on, Matt got a piece of paper out of his coat's left pocket. Getting a pen out of his right trouser-pocket, he pressed the paper against the wall, and wrote the name, 'Michael Caine: Accidental Death. Goes to Snowdonia and attempts to climb Mount Snowdon. He succumbs to the harsh weather and collapses at eight-thirty post-meridian today.'

Ryuk began to laugh some more, and said, "You know, if you misspell a human's name four times, then they are rendered immune to the Death Note..."

Matt looked at Ryuk, and tried to decipher the bizarre look of amusement and superiority that the Shinigami was wearing.

"Hold on... you know the spelling of that human's name, don't you?" Matt asked.

"...of course." Ryuk answered, "But I'm not going to tell you. Also... did you have the actor's face in your mind as you wrote on that piece of the Death Note?"

Matt's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh... oh crap..."

Matt quickly ruled out the name 'Michael Caine' with two straight lines, and smiled, "Ah... there we are."

Ryuk began to snigger, starting off as a tiny chuckle before building into a full-blown maniacal laugh.

Matt looked at Ryuk, and muttered, "What's so funny?"

Ryuk stopped laughing for a moment, and said, "...about the two lines negating the death... I lied. You can only negate the cause of death by crossing it out. The human that you write on that paper will die no matter what..."

Matt built himself up into a rage, but held it in, as he realised he was still on the Ffriddoedd site. Finally, Matt said, "Well... what's done is done, I guess. I may as well cover my tracks..." Matt proceeded to cross out the cause of death, and re-wrote the entire statement, adding 'his body lying in a crevice, out of the way of the public eye'.

Ryuk smirked to himself, "Now, if I were a human, I'd call that cowardly..."

"Are you, a merciless Death God, judging me for my crimes?" Matt asked.

"No, because I'm not a human." Ryuk replied, "You're becoming better and better, Matt. That was an innocent human. Beloved by many. And now he's going to die at your hands..."

"Don't try and compliment me." Matt muttered, "For now, I've got to keep appearances. I guess I could always try his name without an 'e'... there's no way there's four different spellings of 'Cain'."

Ryuk began to giggle once again at the mention of the man's name, "Just remember that my little Shinigami eye deal is always open..."

"Go to hell." Matt replied, "Or wherever it is you Shinigami come from. I don't care..."

Author's Notes: Meh. I has nothing to say.

These are thus redundant. Fun fact: Mello's social skills are a whopping 9/10 according to 'How to Read' for Death Note, which makes him almost as adept as Light Yagami.


	6. 06: Partying with the Mafia

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 6- Partying with the Mafia**

_Kitchen AK1.2, Mello and Near's flat, Enlli Building, half-past six post-meridian the same day_

Mello was feeling particularly triumphant. Not only had he managed to meet and talk with one of the members of the 'Bangor Mafia', one of the ones that seemed far more active than the likes of the other members, but he had managed to successfully infiltrate his social circle. If his social circle overlapped with his 'business' circle, he could quite easily obtain information about the case, and it was all thanks to befriending a fellow Psychology and Criminology student.

However, Mello couldn't help but admit that if it wasn't for Near staying in his room, assimilating information, then none of what he had done would have been done as efficiently as it had been.

Scowling to himself, Mello decided to start making his food, something he was still only just getting used to. And, unfortunately for him, this also meant he had to get Near to leave his room and make some food too. Mello was already becoming bitter of being the boy's minder, and knew that if he was going to stay sane, he would make Near make his own food rather than make it for him and deliver it to his room.

Mello walked out of the kitchen, and knocked on room one-one-zero's door, saying, "Nathan! Come on, it's time for food!"

A quiet voice from behind the door replied, "Oh? The time has passed quickly. One moment, Michael..."

Mello folded his arms, and finally, Near opened his door, shuffling out of his room and holding his key-card in-between his index finger and his thumb.

"Thank you for reminding me..." Near muttered, instantly regressing from standing up to crouching on the floor.

Mello looked at his rival, examining his face as if trying to tell if the gratitude was genuine. Finally, he said, "Whatever. Anyway, Near, I bought you a ready meal from the shop. All you need to do is put it in the microwave. Even for an idiot like you, it shouldn't be hard..."

Near twisted his hair a little, "...I see."

Mello turned away from Near, and walked into the kitchen. Getting a chicken breast fillet out of the flat's shared fridge, Mello began dicing up the meat for his meal. Adding it to a wok, Mello turned from his to-be food for a moment to find Near, crouched on the kitchen floor, almost as if he had managed to get from outside his room to the kitchen without walking.

"Mello. You mentioned that you have decided to attend a social gathering of sorts." Near muttered.

Mello turned the hob he was using up, and replied, "Yes? So what about it?"

Near looked down a little, and mumbled, "I was wondering if I could attend also."

"What?" Mello asked in disbelief, not knowing whether Near was wanting to do this for the sake of the investigation or simply to irritate him.

Near began to twirl his hair, "Think of it like this... you, as well as every student in attendance at the social event, will be under pressure to become intoxicated and otherwise unable to properly assess the situation. I am, according to my identity as Nathan Richardson, a minor, below the age of eighteen, and thus am not allowed alcohol. I will have an excuse not to drink, and so, if you begin to act more like a normal student and act as a secondary observer, I shall act as the primary observer. The members of the Bangor Mafia, especially Matthew Dave, will now be wary of your movements. Allowing yourself to... have fun... will avert suspicion, and allow me to observe the situation unhindered, by me acting as an... unrelated flatmate of yours. Does that seem fair?"

Mello wasn't quite sure of what to make of this. It was as if, in plain English, Near simply wanted him to have fun and maintain his masquerade. Mello then caught a hole in Near's logic, "But what if people begin to associate the two of us as working together?"

Near smiled slightly, "You're being paranoid. Most people don't examine things on such a level. We shall appear together because we happen to live with each other, and most flatmates tend to either be on good terms or absolutely despise each other... and I know what I would rather be..."

Mello shrugged, "Well, if you think you can help the situation. But don't get in my way... you're not just doing this so you can find stuff out that I won't, are you?"

Near sighed, "Mello, this is not a competition. L wanted us to work together, and that is what we are going to do. Please do not assume I will deviate from that protocol, even if you wish to yourself."

Mello growled quietly, and poked the frying diced chicken in his wok a little, "Well, Near, you'd best get off the floor and actually start cooking if you want to be at this party in time... or the closest you're going to get to cooking."

Near looked away from Mello, and finally decided to stand up, his legs audibly creaking as he did so. Taking a ready meal out of the fridge, he opened up the microwave and began to heat up his salt-filled, easy-to-prepare excuse of a meal...

_Kitchen AK2.2, Matt's Flat, around eight-thirty post-meridian_

Matt had been hanging around his flat's kitchen for a while, using his computer for more innocuous, relaxing activities, staying in a place where people could walk in on him, simply as an excuse to make Ryuk shut up, or at the very least, give him an excuse not to speak back to him.

"Hey! Hey, Matt!" Ryuk shouted.

Matt continued to sit back and relax, watching some kind of show on his computer while eating some tortilla chips. Ryuk walked around the computer so that he was directly behind it.

"Hey! Matt! I'm talking to you!" Ryuk continued.

Matt finally paused the video, and whispered, "What?"

"Matt, I'm surprised with you. You haven't killed a criminal today, just that innocent Michael Caine actor... by the way, he's probably dead by now, isn't he?" Ryuk said, smirking a little.

"Well, one kill a day's enough to satisfy you, isn't it?" Matt replied, his voice still quiet, "If you don't mind, I don't want to think about that for a while."

Ryuk chuckled, "You're acting like it's just another compulsory task for your stupid school-work..."

"I actually enjoy that." Matt replied, his voice still quiet, "What I'm doing for you is totally different..."

"You only killed that actor because you were afraid of getting caught." Ryuk pointed out, "Speaking of which, you're going to a party with that guy tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes." Matt mumbled, "Now, can you please shut up? Hal's probably going to be getting her drinks here and getting me to go soon..."

Ryuk laughed to himself, "Oh, because your social life is really that important..."

Matt remained silent, and decided to continue watching the video on his computer. Ryuk turned away from his pet human, and muttered, "Well, I don't like you either..."

After a short moment of silence, Halley Motterspool came into the kitchen, and opened the fridge, taking out a large bottle of spiced rum and some Coca Cola. She turned to Matt, and said, "You ready for tonight?"

Matt turned to the woman, and put on a false attitude of light-heartedness, "Yeah, I'm excited. It's been a while since we've had a proper flat party... I hate clubs..."

Halley nodded, and said, "Yeah, they aren't my thing either... anyway, we're going soon, so are you ready?"

Matt got up, and walked towards the still-open fridge, taking out three bottles of Kopperburg Mixed Fruit Cider, and said, "I am now! Let's go!"

"Hold on, we're waiting for Dave..." Halley replied.

Matt rolled his eyes, "Oh, I see..."

"Oh, and we've also got to go down to the first floor and pick up Mike. He's given me his number, so we just need to meet him at his flat for tonight." Halley added, "He texted me, asking if he could bring a friend along..."

"I see." Matt muttered, trying his best not to be a little unnerved by being reminded of the strange young man, "Have you met his friend?"

"Um... no, I haven't." Halley said, "Apparently he's a scholarship student, really bright, but young."

Matt laughed to himself, "Oh... so, he's gonna be a funny lightweight when drunk, I bet. Something tells me the girls will think he's adorable..."

Halley folded her arms, "We're not all sissies, you know."

Matt turned away for a moment, and then looked back, saying, "Well, I know if I were... you know, never mind..."

Halley looked at Matt for a moment, and said, "You know, you're weird. And recently, I've been hearing you talking to yourself through my bedroom wall... what are you talking about?"

Matt gulped, and began to sweat, but quickly formed an excuse, "Um... well... uh... recently, one of my friends has been... uh... Skyping me an awful lot about... you know, home issues, I'm sort of acting as a shoulder to cry on at the moment. Sorry about that."

Ryuk chuckled loudly, "That was a good lie. Even I was convinced..."

Halley also seemed convinced, and simply accepted the lie, "Oh, I see. Well, can you talk a little quieter, because I can't get to sleep because of it..."

"Sure." Matt replied, and with that, a young-looking man walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry for keeping you..." the man said.

"It's alright, Dave." Halley replied, "Now, get your booze and let's go!"

Dave opened the fridge and got out a large bottle of cheap red wine, and the three walked out of the flat, walked down one flight of stairs, and then got to a door that read 'A109-A116'. Halley got out her phone, and after calling a contact named 'Mike (Mellow)', she put the phone to her ear.

After a short wait, she said, "Hello? You ready? Oh, you're just getting your friend? Oh, okay. We're outside your flat."

Matt was somewhat intrigued by who this 'friend' could be. A fellow agent? Well, Matt still wasn't sure if this 'Mike' was an agent in the first place, but judging by the fact that he had noticed his patterns made him dangerous regardless. So, after waiting for a short while, he was surprised to see the orange-haired man open the door, with a short, white-haired boy next to him. There was no doubt that 'Mike' wasn't lying about him being a child prodigy that had gotten in via scholarship. The boy looked like he was about ten, never mind young for attending university.

"Hi there..." Mello said somewhat cheerfully, "Halley, and your name is..."

"...Matt." Matt finished off his sentence.

Mello laughed a little, "Ah, yes, I've met you before. And who's this?"

Dave turned to Mello, and said, "I'm Dave."

Matt looked down at the white-haired boy, and said, "What's your name?"

Near twisted his hair a little, and said quietly, "Nathan."

"So, you ever been to a party before, Nathan?" Dave asked.

"Not really." Near mumbled, "I was hoping that if I went to one, I could get to know my peers better."

Matt didn't like the tone of this boy. It was hard-to-read, as if he was lying with every word he said. He looked up to Ryuk, who was staring at the boy with curiosity as well. Matt was beginning to think that these two were indeed from the authorities, and if that were the case, then he'd soon be caught. However, what struck him as odd was the fact that he hadn't been arrested yet if that were the case. Perhaps they were looking for solid proof of something... but what, exactly? This party would be an opportunity to get them drunk and find this out...

"Well, we're probably gonna be having a ton of drinking games, so I hope you guys have got booze!" Matt declared.

Mello grinned, detecting the uneasiness in the man's voice, and revealed a bottle of chocolate liqueur, "I'll be taking shots..."

Matt had to admit that was pretty hardcore, "I'm impressed..."

This revelation shocked Matt even more. Perhaps they weren't agents after all? No agent would be willing to drink an entire bottle of liqueur in one sitting if they were there to observe a suspect... unless... that was what the boy was for. Matt knew what his next question would be.

"Nathan, what about you?" Matt asked.

"Oh..." Near mumbled, "Well, I am only sixteen, I can't buy alcohol for myself. Mello bought me two bottles of beer..."

"Mello?" Matt asked, and then remembered that was 'Mike's' nickname, "Oh, yeah, that's you, ain't it, Mike?"

Mello seemed a little uneasy, before breathing a sigh of relief, "Yeah. It seems Nathan's the only one who calls me it, even though I hoped the nickname would catch on..."

Near smirked at the exchange, and then said in an unbelievably false tone, "Anyway, shall we get this party started?"

Halley nodded, and led the group down the stairs, walking out of the Enlli building, before going around to a different entrance of the same building, waiting outside of it.

Dave got out his phone, and said, "I'll just get someone to let us in..."

After being let into a flat on the ground floor, the first thing Matt did was take a seat around the kitchen table, Mello doing the same while Near scanned the area. There was a thin-faced ginger-haired man and a more round-faced ginger-haired man in the vicinity which Near recognised as Cameron Baines and Hugh Jackson, two of the many people who were living in rooms which boxes of apples had been sent to, as well as a brown-haired woman which he recognised as Naomi Derbyshire, yet another suspected 'Mafia member'. Knowing he couldn't act as if he was familiar with them already, Near decided to walk towards the table and sit next to Mello.

The music in the kitchen was playing loudly enough for Near's whispers to be inaudible to anyone but the person it was directed to, and so Near whispered into Mello's ear, "Those three are also members of the Bangor Mafia."

Mello looked briefly, and whispered back, "Don't be so obvious that you're pointing people out... look, now the girl's come over..."

Naomi Derbyshire decided to sit next to Near, and said, "Hello! I don't think we've met before. Have you been to any parties her before? Why were you pointing at me?"

Near shrunk into himself, feigning nervousness, looking to Mello as if he was cuing him to say something. Mello put his hand behind his head, and said, "Heh, he's a little quiet. His name's Nathan, and mine's Mike! He was just saying that he thinks you're pretty hot, ain't that right, Nathan?"

Near blushed, convincingly pretending to be a relatively normal human. Matt observed the situation while sipping on his Kopperburg, thinking to himself. This performance seemed... too elaborate, too over-the-top... hold on, wasn't that... Naomi Derbyshire? Yes, it was, one of the people who's addresses he'd used to act as decoys for whoever was tracing the location of the crates of apples. Come to think of it, the boy had pointed to Cameron and Hugh, two of his friends he'd also used as decoys. Matt smiled to himself. He'd clearly made it so that he wasn't the only suspect. This had confirmed two things- one, the two were agents and were indeed working together, and two, they had nothing on him beyond his address. If he were to increase the amount of fake addresses he used, then he could extend their suspect list to the entirety of the residents of the Ffriddoedd site... however, if he used their own addresses, they'd know that he was faking it. What he'd have to do is avoid all Enlli rooms in the range of one-zero-nine to one-one-six. This was too easy... soon, they'd either come to the conclusion that the crime was too elaborate, and investigate a wider range, undoing all their work on narrowing down to him, or they would arrest everyone so far involved, and their genuine lack of knowledge on his crimes would make it easier for himself to feign the exact same lack of knowledge.

While Matt had been thinking, the first drinking game had already started- 'Ring of Fire'. Halley had been tapping Matt, who had been off in his own little world, and said, "It's your go, Matt!"

Matt shook his head in shock, and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking. Right..." Matt took a playing card from a ring of cards set up in the middle of the table, surrounding a large pitcher. He turned it around, and revealed a seven, and then said, "Ah... never have I ever..."

Near looked to Miss Derbyshire, who seemed to like his presence, and asked, "What does that mean?"

"It means that whatever he says he's never done, if you have done, you drink..." Naomi explained.

Matt thus demonstrated, and said, "Never have I ever... had sex!"

While the majority of the party-goers drank heartily, a few people ashamedly left their drinks untouched, Mello and Near being among them. Naomi proceeded to squeal in adoration, "Aw, Nathan, you're innocent?"

Near shuffled a little uncomfortably, "I'm... only sixteen..."

The woman, who had clearly been doing a little drinking before the game, hugged the boy, and said, "Well, I hope I can change that at some point!"

Mello looked over the situation, and decided to evaluate it. What could this be... if one of the members of the Bangor Mafia had gotten onto him, they would have informed the other members to be wary. And this member would most likely be Matthew Dave, given his odd behaviour when he first spoke to him in his own flat. And if he suspected Near to be in on his operation, would he have somehow told her to seduce Near as part of their plan... however, Matthew had not touched a communication device from meeting Near to getting to this party... but then again, a lot of the incidents in this case didn't make sense, such as the fact that some of the criminals used to organise the deliveries of apples died in ways that seemed natural, such as heart attacks and cancer. Perhaps... perhaps someone had some kind of supernatural power... in which case, why weren't _they _dead yet... or perhaps this interaction was genuine. Mello was not sure, but what was a certainty was that the members of the Bangor Mafia seemed to be one of two mutually opposing things- either extremely tight-knit and organised, or very loosely affiliated. The other two members of the 'Mafia', Cameron and Hugh, seemed to be doing their own thing, not interacting with each other very much, but occasionally doing so... their acting... if it was acting, seemed too natural, like they were adept at deflecting suspicion. Mello knew he was over-thinking the situation, yet couldn't help but be confused.

Near took a card from the circle, and revealed it to be a King. Matt said, "King! Pour!"

Near cocked his head, "Pour?"

Naomi Derbyshire grinned, still holding Near like a vice, "It means that you pour your drink into that pitcher in the middle. When all four kings have been taken, the one who took the last one has to drink the mixture of the last three kings drinks!"

Near smirked, as this meant he had an excuse not to drink his own beer, and would thus remain more sober. He began to pour a large amount of his beer into the pitcher, and after someone said, "Okay, you can stop now." Near finally stopped, smiling at the fact he had gotten rid of a good half of his bottle in one fell swoop.

The game continued, and as Jacks were picked, more convoluted rules were added to the already convoluted drinking game, leading to more instances of people having to take drinks. Mello had gone from the most sober in the party to someone who could barely stand courtesy of his chocolate liqueur, while Matt had found himself in a similar state despite only drinking relatively weak cider. The two had found themselves talking with each other, seemingly both still focused on their agenda despite their drunken states, all the while Near had seemingly cheated his way into getting two more kings in a row, meaning whoever got the fourth King would have to down one and a half bottles' worth of beer, while Near had sneakily managed to get away with only drinking half a bottle, which was more than enough to loosen him up and get him a little more relaxed with the girl that had lost her sense of personal space age ago.

"Hey... Nathan, like... how old are you?" Naomi asked.

"I told you..." Near mumbled, trying to keep focused on Mello despite the obvious lack of progress, "...I'm sixteen..."

"So... you're... you're... like... legal?" Naomi slurred, and proceeded to kiss Near on the lips, but did not receive a response, so pulled away, and said, "What? Why don't you want to kiss me? I'm not... I'm not... ugly, am I?"

Near rolled his eyes, and knew the situation he'd found himself in- he was now going to have to be the comforter to the insecure drunk girl. This meant he would have to talk to her properly if he wanted to integrate as a student and not come off as suspicious.

Matt was using his drunk babbling in some hope of getting some information out of Mello, "So... like... where did you... work, or whatever, before coming here?"

Mello laughed a little, and said, "Winchester... yeah, it's... the middle of nowhere..."

The relatively sober Halley and Dave looked to each other, and the former said to the latter, "Wow, it seems Mike and Matt have hit it off..."

Dave laughed to himself, "Yeah, it seems that he's forgotten about you pretty quickly, doesn't it..."

As if to prove that, Mello got more inquisitive, and asked Matt, "So... you hang around the mail office to... look at the mountains... well... do you know anything about the... the empty crates of apples that people have been getting?"

Matt grinned, and used his drunken logic to confirm that indeed, they were watching the mail, and said, "Those empty crates? Oh yeah, a lot of guys have been getting them... think it's a... stupid prank or something. I don't know what's going on..."

Ryuk, like Dave and Halley, was watching over the situation, albeit invisibly, and chuckled, "It would seem that even when drunk, Matt's not a bad actor..."

The night ended with Mello collapsing and having to be brought back to his flat by a notably responsible Near, who's lips were covered with lipstick that once belonged to 'Mafia member' Naomi Derbyshire. Near had hoped to use her emotional vulnerability at that time to pump her for information, but all she seemed to want to do was throw herself all over the simultaneously lucky and unlucky boy. Matt, on the other hand, went back to his flat with a confident feeling... he had managed to use the occasion just as much as he had wanted to, and felt that whoever this 'Mike' and 'Nathan' were, they stood no chance at finding out the true nature of what he was doing...

Author's Notes: This is where the stories of the original death note and this diverge. Because, as we all know, Light is ridiculously popular, but hates most 'normal' people enough that he chooses to eat lunch together, never mind attend parties like a popular person his age would normally do.

Not to mention the United Kingdom and Japan have a very different culture regarding alcohol. I mean, the UK seems to take the attitude of 'we come to this party to get drunk to the point of not remembering anything'. I personally go to parties to watch the other people get drunk, and although I have been hungover (and what fun that was) I always remember my nights out (and in). It's much easier that way.


	7. 07: The Blue Herring painted Red

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 7- The Blue herring painted Red**

_Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, eleven ante-meridian, three days later_

While Mello was still very much asleep, having stayed out late for many nights in a row, Near was awake, and attempting to form what he knew together into a coherent story.

The deaths were always organised within the United Kingdom, and had recently stopped, yet Mello had reported that empty crates presumably once containing apples had still been arriving at the mail... this suggested that... the killings had extended to international targets, ones beyond the MI-five's view. Whether these targets were criminals or not would greatly affect his view on the case. If it turned out that the targets happened to be criminals, then it was clear that the deliveries were nothing more than a diversion... in which case, there would be nothing to smuggle.

And that would mean that the killings were far more likely to be the work of... a vigilante, or at least a set of them, one which perhaps pretends to fund criminals for deliveries before killing them... but then there's the cases in which victims died of heart attacks and acute lymph cancer... these seemed beyond any vigilante's capability. In which case, this 'Mafia' was less an organised crime syndicate and more an organised murder scheme, the murders being the primary objective, possibly with powers beyond the average person's grasp. Near was unsure about any international criminal deaths, but new of someone who would be able to help him out...

Opening his computer, he turned it on, and after waiting for it to boot up, he accessed 'Skype', and, as expected, 'Ryuzaki' was online. Clicking on his icon, he pressed the 'call' button, and waited for a moment before hearing a monotonous, weak-sounding, "Hello?"

"Hello, Ryuzaki. I have called relating to the case, naturally. I do not think that this case is an organised smuggling group after all..." Near mumbled, "...after seeing the behaviour of some of the 'Bangor Mafia' members last night, I can..." Near paused, feeling his lips slightly before continuing, "...safely say the majority of them are behaving in manners not out of the ordinary."

"...you say 'the majority'. Why is that?" L asked.

"...Mello... I mean, Michael... claims that Matthew Dave, the person who corresponded with the very first address you obtained, has been behaving strangely, waiting outside the mail office every day..." Near looked downwards, "...according to you, the deaths have stopped in Britain, am I right?"

L nodded through his web-cam, "That is correct."

"...well, considering Matthew's behaviour, I can assume he is an active member, and that he is using these deliveries as confirmation of deaths..." Near muttered, "...the fact that he's continuing to stay there, if Mello is to be trusted, is that... they have extended their 'delivery mules' to international targets. If they are criminals, then this could have certain implications..."

L smiled slightly, and he said, "You're thinking that the varying addresses and deliveries are decoys for the real business of the 'Mafia', aren't you? I'm impressed, Nathan. You believe that this person or group is aiming, not to deliver or smuggle any illegal goods to Bangor University, but rather kill criminals. And this assumption relies on finding out about the most recently used people..."

"Exactly." Near mused, "I was wondering if you could help..."

L turned his eyes away for a moment, and said, "Ah... here we are. A Spanish serial killer by the name of Alejandro Bonito died yesterday, and eye-witnesses said that they saw him leave his post office, before climbing to the roof of the same building and jumping off it, dying of head injuries. Another was Ayman al-Zawahari... my, this one's fairly high profile... I presume you know who he is?"

Near nodded, "Second-in-command of Al-Qaeda. Set to be the successor of Osama bin Laden."

L sighed, "Correct. He died of a sudden heart attack after attempting to set up a raid on a holiday resort in Egypt. There's no sign of bizarre behaviour before he died, but it does seem contrived... because his entire team also died of heart attacks while declaring to the holiday-goers that they were going to kill them... this was on live news, as well..."

Near stopped and thought, "Both Mello and myself seem to believe that whoever is in charge of this organisation... if it is an organisation, has supernatural powers of some sort. But if this person is Matthew Dave... then we would already be dead. Could it be that he's being used by this supernatural leader as a decoy, like all the other addresses, and is just being used more extensively than the others. It's clear this force can control others' actions..."

L nodded, "He almost certainly has supernatural abilities. What struck me as particularly odd was that these people died right after their names were shown next to their photographs on television. I was watching it via live-stream on a computer, so anyone with an internet connection, student or not, would know their names of interested enough to watch. Similarly, all the previous victims have had their names and faces revealed at some point in the media, and had extensive wikipedia articles on their crimes. Also... there's something else you should know... the thing that's made me think about names and faces..."

"What is it, L?" Near asked.

"...an actor, by the name of Michael Caine, was found frozen to death in the Snowdon mountains yesterday. His wife had asked for a search party after he drove away from their house, not telling her where he had gone, beyond that he wanted to go mountain-climbing." L relayed, "And it was found in a crevice, out of human view. It was only because a search party was looking for something that he was found at all... I think that this was an attempt to kill Mello..."

Near twirled his hair, and said, "I don't understand... the actor happens to share..." Near's eyes widened, and he began to smile somewhat inappropriately given this was discussing an innocent man's death, "...so, you're saying that this supernatural killer requires a name to kill. And this killer received Mello's alias', assuming it was his real name, and tried to kill 'Michael Caine'. But, it didn't kill Mello, but instead killed the actor..."

L grinned, "Yes. So, this confirms it. The one behind the killings is concerned with killing criminals, not smuggling, and has some form of supernatural capabilities that enable him to kill people who he knows the name of."

Near picked up a die, and rotated it within his hand, "...this case has just become... far more interesting... the first thing I need to do is notify Mello to be extra cautious of Matthew Dave. If he _isn't _being used, but is the head of this operation, or indeed is the only one in on this operation at all... then Mello will need to investigate him more carefully for the time being..."

_Matt's room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, twelve o'clock midday_

Matt was feeling particularly proud of himself, for reasons he never thought he would have been, too. The young man merrily hummed to himself, and he got out his Death Note, using his computer to find another target.

Even Ryuk was confused by this turn of events, and asked, "Hey, Matt... why so cheery? Isn't this the point where you become defensive and say you're only doing this because you have to?"

Matt grinned to himself, and said, "I'm too far gone for that. I've now figured what I'm gonna do with the Death Note... after I saved that holiday resort in Egypt, I realised what it is I've gotta do..."

Ryuk laughed to himself, "I see... so, you're going to become a superhero?"

Matt's expression became deadpan, and he said, "No. Heroes don't kill. I'm just going to do the right thing with these terrible powers. You know what, now that I've stretched my targets to big-time international criminals, I think that there's no need to send you apples... I can provide you a lot more entertainment this way..."

Ryuk stepped back in horror, "...n-not send me apples?"

Matt shook his head, "Ryuk, you don't understand at all, do you? After that party, those two people, 'Mike' and 'Nathan', had chance to investigate people who I'd already used as decoys. If I continue to hang around the mail office, then I'll just look like I'm standing out from the crowd... I need to occasionally set it up so _they _are looking suspicious, or simply stop what I'm doing. And seeing as the former would involve having to kill them, and simply cement myself as the most suspicious when I'm the last member of whatever group they think I'm part of standing. So the latter is required. Don't worry, Ryuk. I'll still buy you apples... every now and then. However, I've got a duty now... here are the targets I've got for today..."

Matt brought up a list of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, complete with names and photographs.

Matt smirked, "It's amazing what you can find on the internet, isn't it?"

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "It looks like you're enjoying this..."

"Well, the FBI clearly want these men dead." Matt pointed out, "I'm just going to help them along the way. I'll make their deaths of varying dates and times of death, not to mention various causes of death. I could make it seem like they've simply died of incompetent attempts at terrorist attacks. However, I have to admit if this exact wanted list suddenly depletes in one fell swoop, it'll draw attention... I need to pace these deaths over a long period of time... weeks, months if needs be... but then again... the agents who are after me aren't even looking for people beyond Britain. I bet they haven't noticed that I've moved my killings to international targets..."

Ryuk sat on Matt's bed, and said, "Don't you think underestimating your enemies isn't exactly the smartest thing to do?"

Matt looked at Ryuk, and nodded with what seemed to be respect, "You're right." Matt then turned his borderline neutral look to a glare, "...get off my bed."

Ryuk changed his posture from sitting to lying, and said, "Make me."

Matt growled a little, "...hmm. Well, I guess I'd better plan out this regime... I'll start with... Jamal Ahmed Mohammed Al Badawi. While the five million dollar reward for assisting in his capture would be nice, I think this is gonna be cheaper on the already skint American Government."

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "I'm in awe of your concern for your fellow man..."

Matt folded his arms, and then opened up a live-stream of international news, "...right, I'll also kill current criminals, that way I'll stop major crimes before they become continuous, like the crimes of these guys on the 'most wanted' list."

The news reporter cycled through various criminal reports throughout the world, before the news switched to more local topics, one of which caused Matt to freeze in horror.

"In Entertainment News, Michael Caine, renowned British Actor and Author, was found dead in Snowdonia, Wales. The seventy-nine year old was said to have driven from his home three days ago according to his wife, who requested a search party the next day. He was found dead yesterday, post-mortem reports indicate he died of hypothermia." a news reporter declared through Matt's computer.

"No... no..." Matt stammered, "...but... I said that he'd be out of public view..."

Ryuk grinned to himself, and muttered, "Well, a search party isn't the average public, is it? They were actively looking for a body..."

Matt's face became red, but his fury remained tranquil, "...if those agents find out about this... they'll become that much closer to finding out the truth..."

Ryuk cackled ever so slightly, "Well, you could always just trade half your lifespan for the Shinigami..."

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Matt snapped, hyperventilating afterwards, "...I AIN'T GIVING HALF MY LIFE TO A FREAK LIKE YOU!"

Matt breathed heavily, Ryuk not moving from Matt's bed. At this point, a knock on Matt's door was heard, causing Matt to turn to the sound in fear.

"W-what is it?" Matt asked.

"Matt, are you okay?" Halley's voice asked.

"Uh... just... just fine..." Matt mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Halley replied.

"...I'm just... a little tired of having to comfort my friend all the time..." Matt lied, having calmed down a little.

"...I see. Well, if you wanna talk, just say..." Halley's voice concluded, and steps towards her room were heard, before a door opening and shutting.

Matt looked into Ryuk's eyes, and scowled at him, whispering, "Ryuk, you'd best be grateful you're a superior life-form to me, because I would kill you with this thing if I had the chance..."

Ryuk wasn't at all fazed by this revelation, and simply said, "There's no need to be grateful. We Shinigami will always take our immortality for granted. There's very few ways a Shinigami can die. I guess you can say you're helping me do that in one way..."

Matt folded his arms, and sat on his chair again, "...what do you mean?"

Ryuk laughed ever so slightly, "...that Death Note there... didn't always belong to me. I stole it from a Shinigami named 'Sidoh'. It wouldn't surprise me if he comes down here to get it back. Otherwise, he's gonna die when he realises he's running out of life and has no Death Note to help him... it'll be funny if I see him as a pile of dust when I get back to the Shinigami World..."

Matt looked away from the Shinigami indignantly, "...you're a sick son-of-a-bitch, Ryuk. And here's me thinking humans were the only things that killed their own even when it isn't out of necessity..."

"You don't have a sense of humour, do you, Matt?" Ryuk remarked.

"Better than having a twisted one." Matt parried, "Come on, I have a lecture at one..."

"Hold on, you haven't even written that guy's name down..." Ryuk reminded Matt.

Matt put on a false smile, "...oh, thank you for noticing, Ryuk!"

Writing in the terrorist's name, and a cause of death, complete with details, Matt headed out of his room, his Marine Biology notebook in tow.

_Dean Street Lecture Theatre, Dean Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, ten past one post-meridian_

Matt walked into the lecture theatre late, and shuffled around until he found a seat next to Gary, who said, "Hey, Matt. You oversleep?"

"...yeah." Matt replied, forcing a false yawn as if to prove it, "So, what have I missed?"

"Well, we've currently covered the differences between Echinoderms and other Triploblastic life-forms. It's weird, they're radially symmetrical like Diploblasts even though they have a mesoderm..." Gary explained.

"That's cool. So, nothing else?" Matt asked.

"Oh yeah, stuff about how they're capable of regeneration." Gary added.

"Oh well, that's a no-brainer." Matt bragged, "It's obvious that starfish and stuff grow their appendages back..."

"Anyway, are you gonna listen to the lecture?" Gary complained, "We got two hours of this, so I'd like to get the most out of it."

"Sorry." Matt mused.

Suddenly, Gary seemed to counteract his aim, and said, "...oh, by the way, room inspections are supposed to be happening around two today... you get the email?"

Matt's eyes widened, and his face went white. He knew he had left the Death Note out on his desk... and this lecture was going until three. There was no way he could just leave the lecture theatre suddenly without looking suspicious... Matt shuddered to himself.

"...I haven't checked my emails recently..." Matt replied, and then said, "Anyway, let's stop talking now... let's get on with getting down some notes..."

Matt knew that writing down notes was the least of his concerns. He had to think of an excuse to leave early... anything... just to get out of the lecture theatre...

Forty minutes passed, and the information from the lecture had got in one ear and out the other. Matt began to look visibly panicked, and finally, the lecturer said, "Okay, the first half's done, we're going to take a break, but we'll restart at two."

Matt smiled to himself. This was his opportunity.

"Hey, Gary, I'm just gonna go to Aldi..." Matt said, and got up from his seat, "...I'll be right back."

Gary accepted the lie, and said, "Okay. Don't be late again..."

Matt didn't respond to this, and took off, putting his headphones on to drown out any jibes Ryuk would have to say on the way back.

Walking as quickly as he could without drawing attention, he headed up 'bitch hill' in record time, and finally got to the Ffriddoedd site. Rushing to the other side of the entrance to the site, he reached the Enlli Building, and headed up to the second floor via the stairs.

"Oh... oh... please tell me they haven't..." Matt said to himself as he entered his flat.

Walking to his room, he opened the door, and found his desk as it was, devoid of the one noticeable object... the Death Note.

"No... no..." Matt stammered, "...this... this can't be..."

Ryuk chuckled to himself lightly, his laughs building up gradually until he finally gave up all pretence of seriousness, and outright giggled to himself, "Nice job, idiot! And you had just figured what you were going to do with the Death Note as well... if this were a story, I'd call this a tragic moment..."

Matt turned to Ryuk, his face filled with rage, but lost his motivation to shout at the Shinigami, and instead, broke down in tears, "No... the Death Note... someone else has it... and... what if they start... start using it... what if they use it for selfish reasons... I..."

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Please, someone bring me the world's smallest violin..."

Matt continued to cry to himself, and finally muttered, "Ryuk. How long did you say I have to recover the Death Note before it officially becomes the person who currently has its property?"

"Four hundred and ninety days." Ryuk stated.

Matt got up from the floor, "...well... provided that this inspector decides to use it... this could be interesting..."

"You calmed down fairly quickly..." Ryuk remarked.

Matt turned to Ryuk, "Well... I've just realised something... Ryuk, you wouldn't happen to be able to follow other humans than me, would you?"

Ryuk stopped and thought for a moment, and said, "Well, I suppose if that person had touched the Death Note in my possession, then there'd be no rules against it. We're only allowed to follow humans if we intend to kill them or give them a Death Note. So... I guess it'd be okay... you want me to go see that human, right?"

Matt nodded, "Well... I've still got a few pages of the Death Note in my pockets... I'll use them to get a few more crates of apples over here. This'll be my offering... in return... you have to do as I say..."

Ryuk grinned to himself, "If it's for apples, I'll happily co-operate... tell me what you have in mind..."

Matt sat down, and thought over a plan. Once he was done, Matt began to relay the ideas within his brain, "...this is what I want you to do. I expect you to do exactly as I say, no funny business. Of course, if you do, I can't exactly stop you, but... I hope you like apples as much as you say..."

"Can you just get on with telling me the plan?" Ryuk asked.

"...right, here goes..." Matt began to say, and began to explain a devious, extensive gambit...

Author's Note: And for the same reason as the Yotsuba arc, I shall reveal no more. Ha ha ha.

Seriously though. Spoilers, man!


	8. 08: Inspector Javert and the Shinigami

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 8- Inspector Javert and the Shinigami**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, five-thirty post-meridian that night_

Belmont Road was a high-class area of Bangor, very different from the student-dominated Ffriddoedd site and lower Bangor. This area was suburban, with well-trimmed gardens owned by well-trimmed people. One of the more average-looking houses in the neighbourhood was number forty-seven, the house of a certain Miss Felicity Granger.

This woman was certainly older than the average student, but her round, dimpled cheeks and wide eyes left her age vague enough to be anywhere from someone in their late thirties to a good-looking person in their early fifties.

She pulled up her classy, silver Volvo V-forty into her drive, and exited the car, entering her house. She bolted her door shut, and looked left and right, before she opened up her handbag. Out of it, she took a certain black notebook, one with the title of 'Death Note'.

Quivering a little, she said to herself, "...why on earth did I take this home?"

She walked into her living room, and sat on her sofa, opening the book cautiously. She first read over the rules, chuckling slightly at the idea that this notebook could actually kill people. That said, she had felt the urge to take it from Room two-one-two of Enlli during her standard inspections, so there was clearly something... off about this book.

Turning the first page, she read over the names already in the notebook. The first set of writing was messily scribbled over, as if the writer didn't want it to be seen... however, the later writing became more normal-looking, less scruffy, and with no attempts at crossing out...

When she read over the names, it shocked her even more... most were criminals, ones which who's deaths had been broadcast on the news... the woman smiled to herself self-assuredly. There was no way that this book caused their deaths... whoever wrote in this book clearly wrote in the person's name and cause of death _after _hearing about it on the news.

There was no way this could be real... it was impossible...

Felicity suddenly had a brain-wave, "Hold on... what if I test this notebook to see if it really works?"

Felicity shook her head. It was insane that she was even _considering _such an action. She then turned to look at one of the last names written in the notebook.

"...oh... this person's death hasn't been announced yet..." the woman noted, "...from his Middle Eastern name, I guess he's an Islamic Terrorist... well, if he dies, then I guess it's real..."

A scratchy voice made itself apparent behind the woman, saying, "...you don't need that as a confirmation..."

The woman turned around suddenly, her eyes open in shock, "...what the..."

Looking upon the creature standing behind her sofa, the woman gasped in horror. Ryuk was simply occupying the space as if he was entitled to be there.

"Hello, Miss..." Ryuk's eyes glowed red for a moment, and finally he finished his sentence, "...Felicity Granger."

Felicity got up, and picked up a wine bottle, smashed it on her mantelpiece, and pointed the broken bottle at the Shinigami, "...I don't know how you know my name, and I don't know how you got into my house, but take off that costume at once! What are you, some kind of creepy stalker?"

Ryuk chuckled slightly, "You wish. I am a Shinigami. If you can't cope with that terminology, I am a God of Death..."

The woman laughed madly as her world-view seemed to collapse around her, her sanity snapping like a twig, "...no... no... this isn't happening... this isn't happening..."

Ryuk simply stood and watched as the Inspector waved the broken bottle in her hands around unsteadily, "...what? You don't believe me? Well, try and stab me with that bottle. Go on. I dare you."

Felicity laughed a little more, her psyche clearly falling apart, "...sure... sure, why not? I'm clearly going insane, so I'll try it..."

Thrusting the bottle forwards into Ryuk's emaciated chest, Felicity fell over her own feet as the bottle, and herself, passed straight through the Shinigami. She lost her grip on the bottle, and it rolled away from her as she continued to giggle to herself in an almost manic fashion.

"Ha ha... so... so all those... all those criminal deaths... they were all because of a student with this notebook?" Felicity asked from the floor, her dignity disappearing with her sanity.

Ryuk didn't even turn to face the human, and simply said, "Yes. That notebook belonged to a human before you. Before that human, it belonged to me. I also have a second notebook, one which I use to kill humans myself... and I could quite easily use it to kill you, too..."

Felicity picked herself up, maintaining her constant laughter, "...and... that's how you know my name? You're some kind of..." the unhinged woman stopped to laugh to herself a little more before continuing, "...Grim Reaper? You need to know the names of your victims to write in your little notebook of death..."

Ryuk decided to indulge in a little laughter himself, and then said, "You're sharp. The reason why I know your name is because my eyes allow me to see your name and your lifespan above your forehead instantly. I would be able to bestow that power to you for a cost, but unfortunately, unless you kill the first human owner of the notebook or keep your notebook for four hundred and ninety days, I can't make that offer..."

Felicity's head tilted, and she quickly asked, "W-well... you clearly would know that human's name, so can you tell me it?"

Ryuk was surprised by how devious and willing to kill this human was, "I'm afraid not. Shinigami aren't allowed to give real names of humans directly to a human using a death note. Only through the Shinigami eye deal will you be able to find out his or her name."

Felicity looked down a little, and then mumbled, "...so... if I write down any human's name in this notebook, then they die?"

"As long as you're thinking of their face." Ryuk explained, "Oh... but I must add... that if you don't use the notebook, I will have no use for you. It's a Shinigami's prerogative to make sure the human who is in possession of a Death Note uses it. Also... you have to kill criminals..."

"Criminals?" Felicity asked, "Why criminals in particular?"

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Oh... no reason. But if you don't, I'll kill you. It's in your best interests to comply with a Shinigami. Feel free to kill any other targets as you please, but if you don't kill some criminals, then I'm afraid it'll backfire... _tragically_."

"I understand." Felicity mumbled, "...so, can I just kill any old criminals? I've noticed that the person who had this before me only stuck with criminals who were outside of a prison... they were all the people on the news..."

"I don't care where the criminals are, in fact, I don't even care what crimes they've committed, but if you don't do as I say..." Ryuk began to say.

"Yes, yes, you'll kill me." Felicity replied, clearly getting tired of death threats.

Ryuk walked into Felicity's kitchen, and returned holding an apple, and chewed on it ravenously, "I'm glad we can reach an understanding. Have fun using your Death Note... I'll stick around as you use it. Is that a deal?"

Felicity smiled to herself, "...well... I've been so lonely of recent that I could do with a friend... and with this notebook, I'm going to get everything I could ever desire! And once I find out the former owner's name, I'll be unstoppable!"

Ryuk stared at the woman as if she were his next meal. She was _perfect. _Ryuk was beginning to wonder whether his choice to help Matt out was the right one after all...

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, six-fifty ante-meridian the next day_

Matt's alarm went off, his day starting as early as usual despite the fact that his schedule didn't have to be as crammed now that Ryuk wasn't constantly looming over him. Eating breakfast, having a shower, and getting dressed, Matt decided that he'd go for a walk, seeing as he had no lectures that day.

Going down the flight of stairs to ground level, he was surprised to see 'Michael Cain' join him on the way down. Matt smiled. He had no reason to fear him any more.

"Hi, Mike... or, if you want, Mello." Matt said, "So, what's up?"

Mello looked to Matt, and thought over his reply, "You going to look at the mountains near the mail office again?"

Matt shook his head, "Nah. Just going for a walk. You?"

Mello was surprised by Matt's sudden break in routine. Surely this was significant in some way...

"I've got a lecture at nine." Mello explained, "I like to get there early."

"A man after my own heart." Matt replied, "Well, if you like, I'll walk with you. I ain't got anything better to do."

Mello looked at the man with mild suspicion. Something was wrong. He seemed... too calm around him. Like he had changed something significant... Mello knew that as soon as he was alone, he'd have to notify Near, and thus by proxy L, that they should expect a change of behaviour in the 'Bangor Mafia' killings.

"Well, it'll be nice to have the company." Mello lied, "So... uh... how's Halley?"

"Hal's fine." Matt replied, and smirked, giving himself an opportunity to sound like a genuine friend to the youth, "...why'd you ask? You wouldn't happen to..."

Mello folded his arms, "No, I don't have a thing for her. She told me she has a boyfriend, and I'm better than trying it on regardless..."

Matt looked into Mello's eyes, and could see that he wasn't emotionally invested in this conversation, yet played along as if he thought he was embarrassed by the ordeal, "Well, it's a good thing, too. Her boyfriend's a very big guy, on the American Football Team. Strong as an ox. Gives me gym advice. Hell of a nice guy, but I know I wouldn't want to cross him..."

Mello wasn't sure if what Matt was doing was an act or not. The two exited the Enlli building, and zipped up their coats in response to the chilly weather. Matt smirked, and looked down a little.

The two walked through the Ffriddoedd site in silence, Matt pulling the same over-confident smirk that he had since they had left their building. Mello was becoming a little infuriated by it. It was as if he _knew _he was under suspicion, and had figured something out. Unless... had he figured out how to kill him? Was his current actions part of his control?

Finally, Mello decided to confront him, "Hey... what's up with that creepy smile?"

Matt chuckled a little, and said, "Well... I think I know something about you... something you don't want others to know..."

Mello swallowed, and a sweat-drop formed on his face. What was this? Surely he'd want to keep something like that a secret?

"...what do you mean?" Mello asked, trying to stay calm.

"Well, I've been receiving weird empty crates that smell of apples for some time in the mail..." Matt explained, "...and a couple of my friends have said they've been receiving the same."

Mello folded his arms, "So? That has nothing to do with me..."

Matt pretended to misinterpret the reply, and said, "Oh no, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you're responsible. What I'm saying is that you're trying to _stop _this, aren't you?"

Mello was even more confused than before... why was he out and out revealing that he knew he was an agent? Was this his way of forcing him to confirm his guess?

"...I don't know what you're talking about." Mello simply replied.

"Well... even if you're not, I think you should know this. I think that the large amount of deaths of criminals on parole and those boxes are related. It could have been coincidence, but it seems that whenever the death tolls increased, so did the amount of crates that arrived, albeit with a lag... although recently events seem to contradict this theory... but I think that whatever's responsible has simply changed its modus operandi... you're a criminology student, and Hal says you're a genius at it, so... what do you think?" Matt asked.

Mello looked at Matt with an expression of superiority. Was this a joke? Did he honestly think he'd fall for that? That he knew what was going on because he was curious? That he'd managed to act as an 'amateur sleuth' and that's why he's coming off as odd? That said, he couldn't openly contradict him or offer his opinion on the matter unless he revealed himself...

"...can I tell you something?" Mello asked.

Matt grinned, "What is it?"

"I am an agent. I'm working for the government." Mello smiled, and then decided to misinform Matt, telling him an outdated version of their theories to see if he would trip up, "We are under the impression that some form of smuggling operation is taking place, and that an unknown recipient is taking goods from the mail office. We initially thought that it could have been one of the staff at the mail office, but we then found that different people were manning the shifts when the crates arrived at the mail office. However, there was one thing that was constant... that would be you, always hanging around the mail office every weekday early in the morning. In other words, _you _are our chief suspect as a member of the 'Mafia'. We believe you could be working for someone higher up in the chain of command... but nonetheless, you appear to be the recipient of whatever good is being smuggled to the Ffriddoedd site."

Matt smirked, knowing he was thinking just what he wanted him to think, "...um... I have a confession..."

Mello prepared himself for a poor excuse, "What is that?"

Matt winked at Mello, as if he really _was _an amateur sleuth, "...I have been hanging around the mail office early in the morning to see if I could catch the mail van that gives the mail office the crates. From what I have gathered, the crates did once contain apples, but... somehow they disappear once they are picked up by whoever they've been mailed to..."

Mello rubbed his chin. Perhaps he was telling the truth... only an amateur would focus on such a pointless detail as that. However... the fact that they disappear before being picked up by students suggested that none of the students being mailed these crates were actually affiliated with the Mafia, Matt included. Perhaps he really _was _just curious. There was no way he himself could have taken the apples from the delivery every day without looking conspicuous to the mail office staff... still, if he was going to be put in a situation where he had to trust the man, he may as well use this as an opportunity to take advantage of him...

Mello closed his eyes, "I see. Well, forgive me, but I'm still going to keep an eye on you, whether you're innocent or not. In fact... seeing as I don't really need to attend my lectures, why don't we go back home so I can check your bedroom? That should clear up any suspicion, right?"

Matt stopped himself from out and out grinning. This was too easy. Matt nodded, and said, "Sure. Oh, by the way, is that Nathan kid part of your agency too?"

Mello went pale, and shuddered a little. How did he figure that out? Oh... of course. It was when Near blatantly pointed out some of his friends. He probably knew that they had received similar empty crates, and the fact that Near was whispering to him while he pointed them out meant he had associated the two with the people who had received empty boxes. He was smart, he had to admit. And would probably make a good ally if he did turn out to be innocent...

"So, you figured that out too?" Mello remarked, "You're fairly clever, aren't you?"

Matt smiled with false pride, feigning arrogance, "Well, I'm a scientist by nature. Noticing patterns and interpreting them is sort of my forte..."

Mello laughed a little to himself, "You know, I hope that you are innocent. We'd appreciate the help. And if you could get Halley in on it, too, it'd be appreciated..."

Matt looked away for a moment, saying, "I don't think Hal would be interested in the case while she's still got all of her essays to work on."

Mello shrugged his shoulders, "Well, maybe. We'll see. Anyway, let's turn around..."

With that, the two began to walk back towards the Ffriddoedd site, and eventually got to the Enlli building. Matt used his key-card to grant Mello access to his flat, and they walked down to the end of the hallway, where Matt's room was.

"Here we are. My room..." Matt said, and swiped his key-card over his door's sensor before opening it.

Mello walked in, and instantly took to searching the area. He flicked through his notebooks, checked for any hidden objects within his various text-books, checked his drawers, and his bathroom cabinet, and although he found various embarrassing items, he didn't find anything that suggested he was a criminal. A conspicuous piece of lined, A-five paper had laid on his desk, with nothing written on it. For some reason, Mello felt an urge to pick this up, and then put it back down after inspection.

Finally, Mello shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Well, it doesn't seem like you're up to much. However, I'm going to install cameras in your room now that you know who I am. I assume you won't have a problem with this?"

"Of course not." Matt seamlessly said.

"I'll also install cameras throughout your flat. You'll be there as I install them, and you can explain the situation to your flatmates... give them any excuse you like, even if it's 'Mike's a creeper'." Mello mused, "Oh, and... I'm going to leave for a moment. I'm gonna get some cameras from Nathan's room and inform him of the situation. Got it?"

"Okay. I'll be here to let you back in..." Matt replied, smiling with closed eyes, almost finding a niche in how to act when around Mello.

Once he was gone, he slowly walked back to his room, and picked up the piece of paper lying on his desk. Placing it in his coat pocket, he smugly grinned to himself as he walked back out of his room to wait for Mello. Things were going exactly as planned...

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, the next day_

Felicity Granger, Ryuk's latest hostage, was writing names in the Death Note freely, happily killing any criminals that appear on the television screen.

She was lying on her sofa in little more than her duvet, watching television and writing names as they appeared.

"This is so easy!" Felicity remarked, "You know, I'll never need to work again!"

Ryuk, who was hovering beside the woman in awe at how hard she was working, said, "To me, you're working all the time..."

"Well, writing down names isn't that time consuming... and now that I've made a criminal give me a million pounds every now and then before they die... in person, no less, so they're harder to trace, I can live the good life..." Felicity mused, and soon, a knock was heard on the door.

"Oh, that'll be him!" Felicity shouted, getting up and walking to her front door, wearing her blanket like a cloak.

"That'll be who?" Ryuk asked.

"Oh, just a local who's been shooting the students with an air rifle. Grievous Bodily Harm counts as a criminal offence, right?" Felicity asked in an overly cheerful tone, before opening the door.

The man was old, grizzled, and with greying hair. He had a blank, frightened look in his eyes, as if he knew that he was being forced into doing what he was doing. He handed Felicity a cheque, and then ran away, before he got hit by a car when trying to cross the usually calm Belmont Road.

"Ah, brilliant!" Felicity said, closing the door without so much as addressing the man who had just died in front of her, "And next time, I'll use a bank robber, so I can get the money in cash, that way I won't just keep cashing in suspicious cheques all the time, right?"

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Honestly, I don't care what you do. Oh, by the way, has it occurred to you that the true owner of that Death Note could come back for it?"

"Well, at some point, I'll have to go over to the Ffriddoedd site and see who it is..." Felicity replied, "I can probably pretend I'm there for inspections again... and when that happens, I'll find out his name from his or her house-mates, and then I'll kill him... easy, right?"

Ryuk folded his arms, "I don't know why you're asking me for feedback. As I said, do what you want. As long as you kill criminals and buy me apples, I really couldn't care less."

"Oh, well, don't worry about that, Mister Reaper! I'll go out to the shop to buy some now for you, if you like..." Felicity joyfully said, her smile slightly disconcerting.

Ryuk shuddered, and said, "On second thoughts, I'll simply make the ones I've got last..."

Felicity continued to smile, and said, "Oh, no, no, I insist. You're my friend, after all..."

Ryuk was not really sure what to make of this human after dealing with her for a day. She seemed to be abnormal as far as humans were concerned, and seemed almost as apathetic to human death as a Shinigami... but also seemed to get some kind of bizarre _joy_ from it... Ryuk hated to admit it, but this woman and he were birds of a feather, even if she was energetic to the point of stupidity.

Author's Note: Fuel used to get me through this chapter:

Chilli Doritos, and raspberry jam doughnuts. Or jelly, as you Americans call it, heh heh.


	9. 09: Through the eyes of a murderer

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 9- Through the eyes of a murderer**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, nine thirty ante-meridian, the next day_

Felicity Granger laughed to herself, a habit she had become accustomed too quite quickly. Giggling as she wrote down another name in her notebook, Ryuk looked on in vague fascination, chewing an apple in thought.

Sighing to himself, he said, "So, when are you gonna get round to killing the _real _owner of that notebook you love so much?"

Felicity turned her head to Ryuk, and smiled in what seemed like a warped version of affection, "I'll get round to it today, schnukums..."

Ryuk stepped back, and crammed the last of his apple whole into his mouth, "What kind of a nickname is that? As a Shinigami, I don't take kindly to people who address people as anything other than their true name..."

"Well, it's just that you and I have been together for two days, and I figured that seeing as we're living together, we've got to be friendly with each other..." Felicity replied, maintaining her unsettling smile.

Ryuk was now sure that he wanted to work for Matt. This woman may not be the sarcastic, hateful mess of denial that Matt was, but she certainly was irritating. It was almost like she wanted Ryuk to be her boyfriend, a concept which Ryuk recalled was very taboo to the Shinigami King.

"Anyway, _Felicity_, I have something important to tell you..." Ryuk grinned as he said this next line, "...anyone who has touched a page of the Death Note can see me. So... if you need help finding the human who this Notebook belongs to, I will stick around you, and anyone who acts like they can see me will be the previous owner of the Death Note. In fact, I could go ahead for you and pretend to be on their side for you, and you will know who to target when you see me talking with someone, and then I'll make myself scarce."

Felicity was not smart enough to question why Ryuk was being so helpful, and simply hugged the Shinigami, squealing with glee despite her age being past such things.

"Oh, Ryuk, darling, I _knew _you'd be of use. You're getting fifteen more apples for this!" Felicity said, holding the obscene creature before Ryuk allowed himself to become incorporeal, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Well, in that case, let's get to the shop. I much prefer apples to hugs..." Ryuk murmured.

_Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, around the same time_

Matt, Mello, and Near were all crowded within one tiny, single-bed room, with the latter on a wheeled chair while Mello and Matt sat on the bed together, between the ridiculously large amount of plushes that occupied the bed.

"Can we please move some of these toys?" Matt asked.

"No." Near matter-of-factly stated.

Mello growled, "Near, this is no time for games... what the hell did L say?"

Matt looked to Mello, "L? Who's L?"

Mello glanced at Matt, thinking to himself, before accepting that yesterday, after observing one day's worth of footage of Matt, nothing about him seemed suspicious, so he decided he may as well tell him.

"L is a detective. He's who we're working for." Mello explained.

Near nodded, "Mello is telling the truth. L is our mentor, and among the top three detectives in the whole world."

Matt sweated a little. So _this _was what he was up against? The world's third greatest detective, at best. At worst, he was taking on the world's greatest detective... this was going to be interesting, or at the very least, ongoing and painful.

Near's voice interrupted Matt's thoughts, "Matthew? Is there something the matter?"

"No." Matt mumbled, "Just think I'm a little out of my depth here..."

Mello smiled, "Well, you clearly thought that you could figure this case out by yourself. Any help should be welcome, right?"

Matt was feeling his act being pierced apart. Did they still suspect him? Well, it was to be expected. Matt decided to calm down and continue his act regardless.

"Heh, never thought of it that way. Thanks, Mike!" Matt said in an overly cheery voice.

Near was waiting for his computer to boot up. Once it did, he opened up Skype, and clicked on a contact labelled 'Rue Ryuzaki'.

"You use Skype?" Matt asked, "That's a little too public-domain for you guys, right?"

Near grinned calmly, "Do you honestly think that having specialised government software on your computer as an undercover agent is the best idea?"

Matt shrugged, and said, "Well, I dunno, maybe it could be a program only accessible by MS-DOS, with no short-cut or icon to start it up?"

Near and Mello looked at each other, and nodded. The latter admitted, "That's a fairly good idea, thinking about it. You could be a good government agent... what course are you doing here?"

Matt folded his arms, "Marine Biology and Zoology. I would only do this as a hobby..."

Near shook his head, "Fighting crime isn't a hobby..."

After a short wait, a pale, panda-eyed face stared out of the computer screen, and Near moved his chair to the side, allowing the others to look at the screen.

"Greetings. This is Ryuzaki..." L mumbled, and then changed his tone, "Ah... Nathan... and I see you've brought friends. Who's the guy with black hair?"

Near twirled his hair a little, "This is Matthew Dave. He knows about our secret identities. Don't worry, I didn't tell them our true names."

L smirked to himself, "Ah... Matthew Dave. Once our head suspect, until both his Modus Operandi and the Bangor Mafia's changed drastically..."

Mello sat back on Near's bed, moving a plush monkey, "Changed drastically?"

Near smiled darkly, "This is what I brought you two here for..."

L nodded his head on the screen, before placing what seemed to be iced gems into his mouth. Once he finished eating, he began to speak again, "...to be honest, Near and Mello are doing exactly what I would do in this situation. You have allowed the main suspect into our own ranks, which will allow us to keep a close eye on him if he is the killer, and prove a worthy ally if not. And... I hate to say it, Mister Dave, but you're still very much a suspect."

Matt stayed calm, already knowing this was the case, "It's okay. Mello's explained the situation. He's put me under surveillance accordingly."

"Oh. It's nice that you're such a good sport." L mused, "...would you care to know what my observations have let me to conclude so far?"

Matt sat back in a similar manner to Mello, and said, "Sure, go for it."

"I think that you've transferred whatever killing power you have to another person." L muttered, "It doesn't seem like a coincidence that the day you admit that you're curious about the 'Bangor Mafia' killings, the Modus Operandi of the killings changes so widely that it even defies the progressive changes of the past. Before, the changes in Em-oh were subtle, a simple picking up of the pace. Then, suddenly, a set of terrorists suffer fatal heart attacks almost simultaneously, displaying no odd behaviour, simply dying as soon as their names and faces were announced on the news... oh, you are aware of how we know that there is some connection to names and faces with this supernatural killer, right?"

Matt gulped, "How?"

"When Michael Caine, the actor died, it was similar to the alias of Mello, that is, Michael Cain, without an 'e' at the end, we figured that the killer made a mistake, given that Michael Caine, the actor, exhibited totally uncharacteristic behaviour and died in an out-of-the-way location, suggesting the killer didn't want this death to be noticed..." L explained, "...this prompted Near and myself to come to the conclusion that the killer relies on names to kill, and not only that, but was close enough to the Ffriddoedd site to know of Mello's alias. So... this Em-oh suddenly disappears yesterday. Now criminals, regardless of whether they are on parole or not, are dropping like flies, dying at an unprecedented rate, almost as soon as their names are announced on 'ITV news'. This is far less controlled than the first supernatural killer, or, in this theory, _you_, and is instead the behaviour of a psychologically unstable madman..."

Matt had tensed up at this point, and nodded in fear, "...that is impressive. I must say, by all counts, it makes sense that someone in my position would be the first killer, and this psycho is a second killer. So, what do you reckon the first killer, or, if you want, I have to gain from transferring these supernatural death powers?"

L popped another iced gem into his mouth, "Isn't it obvious?"

Near twisted a lock of his hair, coiling it tightly, "...he's doing this to deflect suspicion. It's a pretty pathetic attempt, really."

Matt laughed to himself nervously, "I guess I must suck at this murder game, huh?"

Mello glared at Matt, "This is a serious allegation. So, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Matt folded his arms, "Well, I don't know about you, but I think that... perhaps, this was a mistake on the killer's part."

"What do you mean?" L asked, "This is intriguing. Tell me..."

Matt crossed his legs, sitting up entirely on Near's bed, "I think the killer is smarter than you give him credit. He wouldn't do something as foolish as give someone completely different his powers. At the same time, it doesn't seem reasonable that if he has a cause, he would drastically change his _own _Em-oh just to deflect suspicion. I think this was a mistake that was out of his hands. Which means... whatever power these killers have... are obtained by some kind of weapon, something that can not only be transferred, but... stolen."

L paused, and tilted his head. After stuffing another five iced gems into his mouth, he mumbled, "Most impressive. I have to admit, I didn't think of that myself. I guess that either you're a better detective than me, or... you're intimately connected to or are the first killer. Well, I can't rule out the first possibility. So, in that case, what would the first killer want to do more than anything?"

Near, Mello, and Matt came to the exact same conclusion instantly, "Steal it back."

L stared at Matt through the computer screen, and grinned, "Well... in that case, you're probably counting on being there when we catch this second killer, aren't you?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders, "If by 'you' you mean the first killer, then yes."

Near grinned, "And so... it would be in your interests, regardless of whether you're the killer or not, to help us with this investigation."

"...so, I guess that once we catch this guy, we've still got the first to catch..." Mello added, "And if that guy happens to be you, Matt, then I think it's safe to say we'll nip this crime-wave in the bud pretty quickly."

Matt turned his head away for a moment, and grinned. That was what _they _thought. Their deductive skills may have been God-like, far beyond anything he was capable of, but as long as he had knowledge of supernatural factors that were beyond their control and understanding, he was unstoppable...

_Ffriddoedd site, Bangor, Gwynedd, one o'clock post-meridian_

Felicity entered the Ffriddoedd site at an entrance close to the Student Union Bar, also known as 'Bar Uno'. She was wearing a particularly expensive-looking jacket, and was wearing enough concealer to make herself look in her late twenties.

She hovered around the entrance to the student bar, and turned to Ryuk, asking, "So, if you spot him, you'll talk to him, and then go away from both him and me, right?"

Ryuk nodded, "Yup. I'm not allowed to give a human's name out to another human that's in possession of a Death Note, but there's no harm in me pointing them out..."

Felicity smirked, "You're just wonderful, Ryuk. It's such a shame you aren't more handsome, or I'd kiss you..."

Ryuk tried to ignore the mad woman's ravings, and followed her as she started to walk away from 'Bar Uno' and started going through the site. She walked all the way to the Enlli building, and entered it using her master key-card. Taking the lift to the second floor, she entered the flat that contained rooms A-two-zero-nine to A-two-one-six.

"A two-one-two." Felicity whispered, "That's where he lives, right?"

Ryuk nodded, "You're so smart."

"So, can you go in there and see if he's in there? If he is, just start a conversation with him. Any will do, as long as I can hear." Felicity said, still whispering.

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Of course."

Felicity opened the door to the flat, and walked down the corridor. Ryuk phased through the door that read 'A212', and, to his surprise, Matt _was _there, typing away on his computer.

Ryuk smirked, and stood over Matt, and picked up one of his lecture notebooks. Matt acknowledged the Shinigami's presence, and looked on at what he was doing. Ryuk wrote in the notebook, 'The human who stole your notebook is waiting outside this room.'

Matt smiled, and took the notebook from Ryuk, and wrote down his own message, 'Tell her I'm not in. Then suggest going to the Mail Office, and you can collect two crates' worth of apples for yourself. I will go out in a moment, and bring someone with me. Make sure this human is outside the Mail Office when I get there. I expect you to be behind him.'

Ryuk nodded, and floated back towards the door. He exited the room and shrugged his shoulders, "Not in."

Felicity sighed, "And it would have been so easy, too..."

Ryuk laughed dryly, "Oh, don't give up hope, Felicity. I'm pretty sure that he'll be around here somewhere... in fact, he has a habit of staying around the Mail Office. If he's going to be anywhere, he'll be there."

Felicity jumped like a child about a third of her age, "Yay! Thanks, Ryuk!"

As she walked away, Matt listened to the entire conversation from the comfort of his room. Felicity... that was her first name. So, one more name and he'd be rid of a significant threat... however, there was another task that needed doing before he disposed of her permanently...

_The Mail Office, Ffriddoedd site, Bangor, a few minutes later_

Felicity folded her arms as she waited for a person to leave her earshot. Once the coast was clear, she said, "So, Ryuk, you say that he would normally be here?"

"Hmm..." Ryuk faked thinking to himself for a moment, "Well, I just thought... if you go in there, obviously looking for someone, and without any packages to pick up, you're going to be caught out as acting strangely. I will be invisible to the staff here. If anyone comes running out of the office with me following after him, that's the guy."

"Good idea, Ryuk." Felicity replied, "I'm so glad I have you on my side... I'd hate to have a Shinigami who was neutral or against me..."

Ryuk laughed quietly at this remark, and phased through the office walls. Heading straight past the kiosk, he entered the warehouse at the back of the office and spotted two crates with a pentagram label underneath the addresses on their surfaces. Growling ravenously, he put his head into one of the boxes, and ate heartily. Taking his head out of the first box, he turned to the second crate and proceeded to do the same. Floating back out of the building, Ryuk shrugged his shoulders once again.

"Nope. No sign of him..." Ryuk mused, "However, he'll get here at some point. All we have to do is wait here..."

Felicity looked to Ryuk, for a moment looking suspicious before saying, "If you say so, darling..."

Ryuk resisted the urge to write down her name then and there, knowing that Matt would have most likely planned to kill her in a far more imaginative and interesting manner than he himself could ever come up with.

After waiting for about quarter of an hour, Ryuk saw a pair of men in the distance, talking to each other. One was black-haired, wearing a dark blue jacket, with the letters 'Matthew James Dave' written above his head, and the other was orange-haired, wearing a tight, black outfit, with the letters 'Mihael Keehl' written above his head.

Ryuk cackled to himself. This was his moment. Suddenly, he flew away from Felicity, causing her to look carefully at his movements.

"Mihael! Hey, Mihael! I've been looking for you..." Ryuk shouted in an over-the-top manner, flying towards Mello like a predator.

Mello, unlike the average human, was able to see the monstrosity dashing towards him, and froze in fear as Matt continued to walk, talking as if nothing happened.

"Anyway, Mello, that's why I think that the second killer must be hanging around..." Matt said, before 'noticing' that Mello was no longer beside him, "Mello? Hey, Mello, what's wrong?"

Mello himself had fallen to the floor, and was a quivering wreck before Ryuk, who was towering over him, a grin lining his face, "What's wrong, Mihael? Don't you recognise me?"

Felicity was watching the whole conversation from a distance, and deduced that the one who was cowering on the floor had to be the previous owner. 'Meeheil', was it? Ryuk was pretty smart, getting through the loopholes like that...

Ryuk cocked his head, and jumped into the air, saying, "Well, I can play dumb as well... stupid human. Later..."

Matt was continuing his act, and knelt down in false concern, "Hey, Mello, are you okay?"

Mello, who was still silent from the trauma, turned to Matt slowly, sweat lining his brow. Finally, he started saying full words again.

"...d-d-didn't you see that... that thing?" Mello asked, fear lining his voice.

"What thing?" Matt asked.

"He... he just came from towards the Mail Office..." Mello stammered.

"He? I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't see anything..." Matt said, playing dumb.

Mello scrambled towards Matt, and grabbed him by the collar, "Don't tell me you didn't! No-one could miss it!"

"Describe it." Matt replied, remaining calm.

"It was... grey! It had grey-blue skin! And... and a horrible, face-breaking grin! It was wearing black, and had stitches around its neck!" Mello raved to Matt, who was trying his best to look like he didn't believe a word being said.

Felicity knew that Ryuk had left, and decided it was now her turn to make a move. She walked up to the pair, and said, "Excuse me, can I help you?"

Mello stood up quickly, shouting, "You! You saw it, didn't you! That thing that flew from the mail office! Tell me you did!"

Felicity smiled a little, but tried to play it cool, "I don't know what you're talking about, young sir..."

Matt got up, and said, "...I'm sorry about my friend here. I don't know what's gotten into him." Matt extended his hand, "Matthew Davis. And what would your name be?"

"What's that to you?" Felicity somewhat rightly asked.

"Well, it's rare that I see such a charming woman on the Ffriddoedd site... you seem too classy to be a student. Sorry, guess it's just that I'm into older women, heh heh..." Matt lied.

Felicity blushed at the thought of having a toy-boy to herself, and thoughtlessly said, "M-my name's Felicity..." before adding a thoughtful segment to the sentence, "...what's the name of this young man?"

"Oh, this guy? Michael Caine, but everyone calls him Mello..." Matt said, cursing the fact that she didn't reveal her surname in his thoughts.

Felicity stopped. She knew that Ryuk had said 'Mee-heil'. But if she called the boy out on this, it would reveal to the ex-owner that she could see Ryuk also... this boy clearly was the original owner if he was using an alias.

"Oh, I see. Charming name." Felicity replied, and looked to Mello, "Well, I hope that you forget about whatever it is that scared you... say, are you into older women too?"

Mello stepped back, wondering what this was all about, "Hold on... what's your business here?"

Felicity turned away from Mello, "Hmph! Charming! I'm an inspector, if you must know. I do the room inspections..."

Mello's eyes widened. A room inspector... someone who has access to all of the student's rooms on the Ffriddoedd site... this would certainly be a candidate to be a 'thief', as Matt's theory stated. That, and her appearance was heralded by a strange creature that only he could see... was that some kind of indication of a supernatural power? Whatever the case, a room inspector was certainly a candidate for the identity of the second killer...

"...sorry, but what's your full name, Miss?" Mello asked, so as to know what to tell Near to research on.

Felicity grinned. This guy was too stupid. He was so obviously the first owner of the notebook.

"Why do you want to know that, Mister?" Felicity asked.

Matt decided to go along with Mello's plan, as acquiring her name was crucial, "Heh heh... ol' Mike's a bit into twenty-somethings too, he's just too shy to admit it!"

Mello was impressed by Matt's quick thinking, and pretended to be embarrassed, and shrunk into himself, "...that's... that's not true..."

Felicity looked at the two, and then laughed to herself, "Oh, this is simply _too _unprofessional! Two students hitting on me in one day! Boy, do I feel like the luckiest woman on earth... okay, how about this? I'll take you both on a date, Michael in two days and Matthew in four... does that seem fair? If I like one of you, we'll go out..."

Matt pretended to be indignant, "Hmph! How come he gets to go first?"

Felicity smirked, "Oh, no reason, but the crazy guys are usually quite... skilful, if you get my meaning..."

Mello folded his arms, "So now I'm crazy?"

Felicity put her hands to her hips, "Those dates, take it or leave it..."

"Fine..." Matt 'conceded'.

Mello took his time, before nodding. Felicity clapped her hands, "Oh, good! This will be so much fun! It's been so long since I've been on a date with a man..."

Felicity turned around from the two, skipping away from the Ffriddoedd site in an overly childish manner.

Matt grinned, "She's incredibly vain, isn't she?"

Mello nodded, "Yeah. Showed signs of narcissistic personality disorder. Could be the deranged, psychopathic second killer to fit the Modus Operandi..."

Matt folded his arms, "So, we were thinking of the same plan..."

"And we'll use these dates as an opportunity to investigate her..." Mello mused, "...but it seems strange that she came over here right after I saw that ghost-like thing... to be honest, that's the only reason I'm suspicious of her..."

"Huh? What about the fact that she's an inspector? That was what made me suspicious right away..." Matt remarked, "...someone who could steal from the first killer, who was presumably a student..."

Mello closed his eyes, "You really do think a lot like me, you know that?"

"True, true... well, I guess we should tell Nathan about our plans for our little dates..." Matt mused to himself. This was going... _perfectly..._


	10. 10- The Ball Unravels

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 10- The Ball Unravels**

_Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, one thirty the same day_

Mello and Matt had walked back to the Enlli Building after their strange encounter with an absurdly childish room inspector, and, at least in Mello's eyes, an even more absurd monstrosity with pale, deathly blue skin and horrific, glowing, red eyes.

Taking the lift to the first floor, they decided to knock on Near's door, but surprisingly, Near took a while to answer it. The boy opened the door only slightly, his body less hunched than usual and his face reddened. His lips seemed to have a red substance smudged on them, and he was completely silent. Another voice from his room beat Near to speaking, a noticeably feminine one, at that.

"Nathan! Why did you open the door? You could have just told them to go away!" a familiar voice shouted.

Matt cocked his head in curiosity, and stifled the first legitimate laugh he had experienced for a while, saying, "Naomi? Is that you?"

"Matt! Go away! I'm helping little Nathan!" Naomi confirmed her identity by simply not denying the suggestion.

Even Mello was somewhat amused by this, musing, "Well, that's one way of saying it..."

Near sighed, and turned away from Mello and Matt, "Naomi, please put your clothes back on. This could be important..."

"But... but I thought I was..." Naomi began to say, but was interrupted by Near once again.

"...these two have important business with me. I'm sorry, Naomi..." Near mumbled, his tone of voice not changing despite his words superficially resembling an apology.

After a short delay, the woman in question opened the door wider, and stormed out of Near and Mello's flat in a huff, shouting, "Fine! It's your loss!"

Near looked down, and muttered, "I didn't expect you to have anything to report until tomorrow..."

Matt folded his arms, "I can see that! Sorry for cock-blocking you, mate."

Near simply glared at Matt as if he had already been confirmed as a killer, and finally he turned around and murmured, "Well, I guess you can come in."

Mello walked in first, and sat on Near's now unmade bed, and picked up a small key-card, "Heh! Seems your conquest will be returning for this!"

Near sat down at his desk, and shook his head, "I want to be a good man to her. I'll call her and go to her building to give it to her."

Matt smirked as he sat on his bed, "In more ways than one, I presume!"

Near simply stayed quiet and walked out of the room, taking the key-card off of Mello and picking up his mobile phone as he did.

Mello looked at Matt for a moment, and for the first time since he had gotten there, Mello burst into a hearty, genuine bout of laughter, for once genuinely enjoying the perks of being a student.

Matt was also genuinely finding the whole event funny despite himself. He had to admit, Mello and Near were the closest thing to hyper-intelligent company. While all of his friends were certainly in the upper quartile of the United Kingdom's IQ, very few were this insistent on using their brains _all _the time. Matt could honestly say that if he had never found that cursed Death Note, and got roped into this wretched business by Ryuk, that he could have been friends with Near and Mello.

Matt's thoughts then trailed even further, and he concluded that if it wasn't for him picking up and using this Death Note in the first place, then Mello and Near would never have attended the university. So, it seemed that ultimately, friendly enemy was the best Matt could ever hope for in an intellectual equal like Mello. This L... however... he seemed to be more than even that. He seemed like he was not only his intellectual superior, but superior to most of the world in terms of mental capability.

"Hey, Mello?" Matt asked.

Mello stopped laughing, and replied, "...what is it?"

"Did you ever see L in person?" Matt continued.

"Why are you asking?" Mello quite legitimately queried.

"Well, it just seems that he's beyond smart. I bet he has, like, fifteen degrees, right?" Matt remarked.

Mello shrugged his shoulders, "Well, we ain't told much about L. I work for him, but that's about it." Mello lied, "...there are rumours that previous workers not only knew him in person, but made themselves look almost exactly like L. That same worker became a serial killer, though..."

"Well, for a worker to go to such an effort to find out about a boss who's understandably protecting their identities suggests they were a bad egg from the start..." Matt mused, before stopping and realising what he had just said.

Mello picked up on Matt's hypocrisy, and took out a chocolate bar from his pocket, "Well, it says a lot about you, then. You're trying the exact same tactic." He followed his point with a self-assured bite of his chocolate.

Matt closed his eyes, and nodded, "Yup, I figured you'd say that. I was just curious about if he ever goes out and deals with matters in person."

Mello laughed to himself, "Well, L is neither that brave or that stupid. He can take risks, but not unnecessary ones. I'm fully aware of how expendable I am to him. Say... the worker I mentioned..."

Matt looked to Mello, "Oh?"

"His alias was 'Beyond Birthday'. Funny thing about this guy is he made killings that were only people with names beginning with two letter Bees, like his alias. But... one thing that I never understood was that he killed people who he had no access to information on. He seemed to just... know certain people had the names he was after..." Mello rubbed his chin, "And now there's this case, where only people with names made public being able to die, and pretty much every criminal with an announced name dying a few minutes later of a heart attack... I wonder if there's a connection..."

Matt thought to himself about this. Ryuk had mentioned that Shinigami have special eyes, ones which would logically be the best evolutionary step for them- eyes which revealed names and lifespans. If this 'Beyond Birthday' fellow was able to acquire names in a contrived, almost impossible manner, it could have been due to him having Shinigami eyes... but that would imply he once owned a Death Note _and _made an eye deal with whatever Shinigami was with him at the time. Matt could tell Mello felt like telling him more about this guy, so he decided to push him for information.

"Hey, Mello. This 'Beyond Birthday' guy, how exactly did he kill?" Matt asked.

Mello shuddered, "In as cruel a way as possible. It varied, but he always killed in person, and washed the crime scene perfectly- he had haemophobia, you see. That means..."

"I know what it means. So, his killings were very different from the kind of strange, 'remote' killings that are occurring in this case." Matt pointed out, "Why would he kill people in person if he had the option not to get caught or see blood at all?"

Mello sighed, "Well, he wanted to be noticed by L. He wanted to call him out for all the pressure he put on A, his first potential successor..." Mello quickly stopped himself, and muttered, "Never mind."

Matt almost smiled, but stopped himself. Successor? Beyond Birthday was a potential successor to L, and preceding him was a person known as 'A'... now, why would Mello know about this if he was merely an agent... unless... unless he is also some kind of... successor. Ah... L must have told Mello that story because he was a 'second best' successor too, as a scare story to see what happens when one turns rogue. Near, the obvious plotter and information assimilation agent of the two... he's the number one successor. So, they're _not _so expendable. They're the next generation of the world's greatest detectives... come to think of it, Near _had _referred to L as a 'mentor'. Matt was content with this information, and decided to keep the subject on track for a little while before moving it along.

"Well, that guy may have something to do with these supernatural serial killers." Matt concluded, and then changed to a feasibly different subject, "Oh yeah, I put something together... the em-oh of the killings changed the day following Enlli and Peris' room inspections. That means that... the second killer really is looking like a room inspector..."

Mello nodded, "And not only that, but it also confirms that the first killer would live in either Enlli or Peris. Hate to say it, but that makes you seem all the more guilty."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Oopsy-daisy, guess I, the super-genius killer, messed up that one..."

Mello grunted, "I wish you wouldn't joke about that. If you're the killer, you have something to gain by weeding out the second killer, but you deliberately withheld the part which narrowed down your location. You're not a super-genius, Matt..."

Matt sat back, "Look, Mello, I think you shouldn't be so closed-minded. The first killer could be one of a great many people. Use 'the first killer' and 'me' as separate entities until you have absolutely no reason to doubt your theory."

Mello stopped, sat in silence for a moment, and finally said, "Damn, what's taking Near so long?"

Mello got out his phone, and was about to call 'Nathan', but Matt grabbed the phone off of him. Mello began a scuffle with Matt in an attempt to get it back, and shouted, "Hey! What the hell?"

"We should be guiding ol' 'Nathan's' cock, not blocking it!" Matt playfully replied, and stood up, holding the phone high up in the air.

"Well, he should be focusing on this case, not sex!" Mello pointed out, and reached upwards, "It's rare that we found out so much about a case in so little time!"

Matt put the phone in his other hand, and held it behind his back, "Well, you can't work without having a little... fun..."

Mello growled, and tackled Matt, "Give me my phone!"

Matt curled up, and pushed Mello off of him with his legs, saying, "Don't try it, pal. I work out my legs at the gym every other day, push weights far bigger than you."

Mello stood up, deciding enough was enough, and stamped on Matt's chest, winding him, and used his moment of weakness to pinch his phone back, "Well, that was pointless. This is a murder investigation, not a nursery."

Mello called 'Nathan', and just as he did, the person in question walked in through the door, holding his phone to his ear, "Hello, Mello."

Mello turned around and hung up, and picked up his chocolate from Near's bed, taking a bite of it, "Hey, Near."

Near looked onto the floor, and took a few deep breaths before saying, "What is Matthew Dave doing on the floor?"

Matt replied in an equally breathless manner, "I was just helping you get laid..."

Near turned bright red, and mumbled, "Well... a few... unexpected setbacks occurred when I returned her key-card..."

Matt got up, and remarked, "I bet. So, how was it?"

"It was physiologically stimulating." Near objectively replied.

"And I thought I used too much jargon..." Matt mused.

Mello folded his arms, "Look, Near, we ain't got time for your stupid conquests. We've managed to find a very strong candidate for the second killer..."

Near breathed in, and said, "Who is it?"

Mello decided to answer for Matt, seeing as he was still slightly winded, "A crazy woman by the name of Felicity. She seems to be just as crazy about romance as you."

Near drew a Nerf Pistol from his pocket and shot Mello in a gesture of aggression, "I couldn't help it. She wouldn't stop kissing me..."

Mello became impatient, and decided to keep the subject on track, "Anyway, we didn't get her second name, but she has organised me to date her in two days, and Matt in four days. She seemed desperate to know both our names, and she happens to be a room inspector..."

Matt smirked, and continued for Mello, "...and this is the clincher- the day following Enlli and Peris' room inspections was the day the killer's em-ohs switched, and Mello says that he saw some kind of supernatural, ghost-like creature before she appeared..."

Mello turned pale at the memory, and nodded, "Yeah... this... thing, with blue skin, a huge, gaping maw filled with yellow teeth, and black, gothic-looking clothes, you know, the subculture, not the literary movement... anyway, this thing just appeared, and called out my true first name, and then passed straight through me, before flying away..."

Near walked towards his desk, and sat down, "Endorphins seem to assist my mental performance. Matthew, did you see this creature?"

"No." Matt lied.

"So, you don't know Mello's true name?" Near asked.

"Nope." Matt replied, "Also, as a precaution, when I agreed to go on a date with this crazy woman, I gave her an alias of 'Matthew Davis'."

"That's good." Near mused, "So, an inspector for Bangor University named Felicity..." Near booted up his computer, "I wonder if L could provide us with any information relating to this..."

After a brief wait, Near opened up 'Skype', and called 'Ryuzaki', and after a further few seconds, L appeared on the screen, holding what seemed to be an ice-cream cone.

"Hello, Nathan." L said, before examining the area, and said, "I presume the coast is clear?"

"Yes, L." Near replied, "In fact, Mello and Matthew would like to speak to you.

"Indeed." Matt replied, before Mello interrupted him.

"I'll speak to L, thanks." Mello said, a tad of animosity in his voice, "We have recently found a major candidate for the second killer- she is a room inspector who may have been on duty the day before the killer's em-oh changed. We found her because Matt had told me to go with him to check out the Mail Office, as that seemed to be a suspicious area. Also, before we came across her, a strange creature flew out and called my true given name... it was like a ghost, almost... not only that, but I could see it. But anyway, after that appeared, she walked up to us, and seemed to be desperate to find out both my name and Matt's... she's even offered to go on a date with us..."

"Is she... pretty?" L asked, putting his finger into his bizarre, smiling mouth.

Mello became indignant, "No! What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I was just wondering if I should go out and personally investigate this case as well..." L mused, "Please, continue."

"Yeah... anyway, we think she was the one who investigated the Enlli and Peris buildings on that day, and so we can narrow the first killer's location to Enlli or Peris." Mello added, "I was hoping to use this... 'date' scenario to get information about her, if she is the killer, and how she kills..."

L smiled in an odd, almost inhuman manner, "...yes, Mello. When did she offer to date you?"

"She'll be dating me in two days, and Matt in four days. I was thinking we could attach a wire-tap and button camera to ourselves for when we 'date' her..." Mello proposed.

"Well, that seems like a good plan..." L muttered, "But Matt over here, if he's the first killer, could use this as an opportunity to steal whatever power-granting object he thinks the second killer's stolen back..."

Matt closed his eyes, "Look, I'll keep a wire tap on me the whole time, and a button camera. I think I can be trusted to play along with this if I'm the first killer, can't I?"

L grinned, and then said, "Well, not necessarily. L turned away from his web-cam for a moment, and picked up some papers, before continuing, "Thank you, Watari. Ah, here we are... a list of the student accommodation room inspectors working under the University of Bangor, Wales... what was her first name, Matt?"

"Felicity." Matt replied.

"Ah, here we are. Felicity Granger. Oh... isn't that interesting... she used to live with her brother, Harold Granger, and now is living alone after he died of an atheroma... she must be so sad..." L mused to himself, pretending to care about the person.

Matt sighed, and decided to just be honest, "Look, I know what you're doing. You've given me her full name, so that if I am the first killer, I have the opportunity to kill her and return whatever object I need back to me, and give away that I'm the first killer..."

L's eyes widened, "What? But I thought the first killer was unable to kill remotely at the moment according to your theory... I thought that the power had been 'stolen'... why are you now thinking differently?"

Matt became pale, and began to stammer, "Well, I just thought that was the only reason you'd give me her name... to test me."

L closed his eyes, "...well, it was. Here is my theory. There _is _an object that grants the killers the power to kill people with merely a name and potentially a face, given that ITV-broadcast criminals with no photographs publicly available have not died. This object, however, can be 'split'. At the moment, the second killer has the majority of this object, but the first killer still has a small, limited portion of this power-granting accessory. If that is the case, then the first killer is merely laying low until he can use what little ability he has to kill the second killer, and force her to give him back the full killing trinket via the pre-death manipulation seen in the early killings..."

Matt was surprised. How did he come to this conclusion? There seemed to be so little evidence for this... Matt hadn't so much as looked at his Death Note scraps since he had made Mello accidentally touch one... this theory seemed to be a leap of faith, to say the least.

"What makes you think this?" Matt asked.

"I thought you of all people would know. It's all thanks to your actions. Mello said that _you _told him to come with you to investigate the Mail Office..." L mused, "...this leads me to think that Mello's presence was required for one of your plans. Then Mello sees a spectre of some sort, one which knows his true name and he only sees. Tell me, Matt, did you see this spectre?"

"No." Matt replied, once again lying seamlessly.

"Hm. That's fortunate, isn't it? But who's to say you aren't simply used to this spectre's appearance- the fact that this spectre knew Mello's name suggests that it is something to do with you and the second killer's power..." L continued, "...so in other words, you feign ignorance of the creature and simply listen to him say Mello's real name..."

Mello interrupted, "In fairness, L, he only said my first name..."

"...ah. Perhaps this... thing... is not that loyal. But, once the woman appeared after this creature, then what happened? Was Matt the one who mainly dealt with the woman?" L asked.

"Well... yeah, I was terrified, so he did all the talking..." Mello slowly replied, eyeing Matt with suspicion.

"...ah, I see. I'm beginning to see... this spectre... may be the source of the killer's abilities." L licked his ice cream, and continued, "Mello, if you see the spectre on your date with this woman, then mention the word 'apple-sauce' in one of your conversations with Miss Granger, regardless of context, and try to orientate your button camera towards it. I want to see if it's visible to us..."

Matt began to panic, "W-why is that?"

"Well, I think the reason you brought Mello along was because you have somehow granted him the ability to see this creature... because you wanted to pinpoint both the second killer's location so you could figure out her name, and alert the second killer to someone else who can see this creature... in other words, I think you're trying to make the second killer think Mello is the first killer..." L mumbled, keeping his monotone level despite the major insinuations, "...however, all of these accusations run on the assumption that you are indeed the first killer, and to top it all off, I have no evidence that Mello isn't hallucinating, nor do I know how you'd be able to grant Mello the ability to see something invisible... but certainly, this seems to be the supernatural element we're after..."

Matt was trying his best not to break, his entire plan unravelled right in front of all of his enemies. Matt knew that the best thing to do was stay calm, but he knew that calmly rebutting the statement would simply add suspicion to his name. Instead, he mumbled, "I understand. Well, regardless of what you think of me, we have to use this as an opportunity to investigate Felicity Granger."

L nodded, and took a lick of his ice cream, "Indeed. Oh, Watari, this ice cream is simply delicious!"

With that, the call ended, and Near turned his chair to face Matt, "Please, Matt, do not worry. If you are innocent, the investigation will prove as much. Your worrying only makes us more suspicious..."

Mello was looking at Matt with bitterness as well, "...I don't want to believe you're trying that hard to frame me, but it's always a possibility..."

Matt folded his arms, "I understand. Well, I've got to get back to my flat. I said that I'd cook everyone spicy chicken and rice tonight."

Matt proceeded to leave Mello and Near's flat, and walked up on flight of stairs, getting to the second floor. Hyperventilating as he entered his flat, and furthermore, his room, he waited for his door to shut before clenching his fists, and slamming them onto his desk in anger.

"That L's good! Damn good! How the hell did he get so much from so little..." Matt suddenly stopped, and thought to himself, "...oh... oh yeah, there are two types of reasoning- deductive and inductive... L is working on inductive reasoning at the moment, as he's working under assumptions..." Matt's breath fell to a steady rate, "...yeah... and of course, no scientific paper is seen as valid if it works purely under inductive reasoning. He hasn't got anything concrete on me. He's just using a worst-case scenario. That's right..." Matt suddenly burst into a rather deranged laugh, one that almost didn't fit his face, "...he's only being this accusing because he hasn't got anything else to go on! Well, regardless, I've got that thief's name now, all that I need to do is wait for the opportune time and I'll kill her... ha ha! HA! HA HA!"

Matt stopped erratically, noticing what he was just doing, and held his head, "What is this... am I going insane?"


	11. 11: Dining and Wining Cthulhu

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 11- Dining and Wining Cthulhu**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, two days later, four-thirty post-meridian_

Felicity Granger was giggling to herself, her mental age seeming to decrease by the minute. She was currently adding several powders, concealers, and anti-ageing moisturisers to her face.

"Hee hee! Tonight's the night! I get to meet with the first killer! This should be fun!" Felicity bragged to Ryuk, "It's amazing that I managed to get him to meet me just by my good looks! I never thought I'd be this suave!"

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Don't you think it's a little odd that he's so interested? What if he's an investigator for the police? And if he is the first owner of the notebook, don't you think he knows who you are? He might be using this as an opportunity to find out your name!"

Felicity stopped working on her face, and looked at Ryuk via her mirror, "What is it? Do you know something I don't?"

Ryuk looked away from her, and muttered, "Well, it's just that I'd prefer it if you continued killing for a while, and wouldn't want you to completely throw your pitiful life away."

Felicity turned around and faced Ryuk properly, and hugged the grotesque creature, before saying, "You're... you're worried about me, aren't you, Ryuk? You care for me, right?"

Ryuk fidgeted a little under the grasp of the woman. What was this feeling? Was it... guilt? Was Ryuk beginning to care for a human? No, the thought was absurd. Gelus, a particularly foolish Shinigami, had disappeared mysteriously after he took up a habit of observing a human woman from above. Rem, another Shinigami, claimed she knew what had happened to Gelus, but seemed reluctant to talk about it. Whatever it was, Ryuk knew that he hadn't seen or heard of Gelus since. He even swore that he saw Rem carrying Gelus' notebook around...

"No. I just don't want you to stop your entertainment of me. And the apples you buy me are too nice to pass up. Not like the sour ones the first human got me." Ryuk answered, "I have my own reasons for helping you out."

Felicity turned her head away, then let go of Ryuk, and continued to apply make-up, "So, you wouldn't mind if I were to get with this first killer?"

Ryuk shook his head, "Of course not. We Shinigami see you humans as nothing more than animals. Any feelings like that would be considered bestiality. On a cosmic scale, heh heh."

Felicity smiled with a sweetness unfitting of a woman her age, "Well, in that case, I guess I'm like your beloved pet, aren't I?"

Ryuk couldn't believe he was having this discussion with a human. Suddenly, all feelings of guilt had been banished from his mind, "Strike the 'beloved' part."

Felicity rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, Ryuk, honey. I like you, just so you know..."

Suddenly the feelings of guilt returned to Ryuk. What was this? Ryuk was no human. Feelings like this shouldn't have come to him... was this what prolonged exposure to humans did? Make you more like them? It was like something out of a badly-made zombie apocalypse movie.

Ryuk decided, just then, that he wouldn't play on Matt's side. From now on, he'd do what he had intended to do from the start- stay neutral. However, neutrality did not mean he wouldn't be a vital part of this play. Oh yes, Ryuk would be anything but passive. Although Ryuk was probably going to regret it, he soon found himself asking Felicity a bizarre question.

"Hey, Felicity. Would it be out of the question for me to come along to this 'little date'? I just want to see what happens, that's all..." Ryuk muttered.

Felicity cocked her head, "But wouldn't that give me away? I thought you didn't want me to get caught. He clearly saw you before, so I don't want him putting two and two together..."

Ryuk cackled to himself, "Oh, don't worry, I won't be following you. I'll just be in the general area. I'll be watching from a distance."

"Oh... I see." Felicity replied, and finally finished putting on her make-up, "...well, how do I look?"

Ryuk looked the woman over. She was wearing a red dress that didn't exactly leave much to the imagination up top, but left plenty to the imagination at the bottom. She had braided her hair on either side, and looked rather precocious despite her age.

Finally, the Shinigami said, "You look like a human engaging in mating rituals."

"Shut up! We're not just dumb animals, you know!" Felicity replied.

"No, no, you're completely different from the other animals in this world... you're the only ones we Shinigami can harvest life from." Ryuk dryly replied, "Anyway, given your erratic use of the Death Note, I'd say you need to learn the so-called value of human life yourself!"

"But you said I have to kill one criminal a day yourself..." Felicity pointed out.

"One. You kill anywhere between five and twenty humans in a single day. I must admit, you are a worthy Shinigami." Ryuk mused, "But, you are still a human. If you do something reckless, I'm not going to step in and help out."

Felicity folded her arms, "I understand. Well, in that case, I'll give you something to do. I want you to wait in the men's toilets of the restaurant I'll be going to with Meeheil, or whatever his name is. Then, when he goes for a break, ambush him, and tell him that you'll kill him if he doesn't shout his true name out. Once he does as you say, then you can keep watching, from a distance."

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Well, isn't that smart. You're getting around my constraints just like I did. So, what do I get in return for doing this for you?"

"How about..." Felicity scratched her head, "...well, I'm pretty rich at the moment. Why don't I buy an apple plantation, just for you. I'll pay the workers a full wage for growing the apples, and then, when its time for them to get shipped, they get loaded into a truck, and there you can eat them! How about that?"

Ryuk's eyes lit up bright red with the prospect. A whole plantation to himself... the temptation was rather great. Ryuk smirked to himself. Although this would reduce the excitement levels somewhat as a major piece would be removed from the chessboard, he would be literally swimming in apples... but then a little piece of his mind seemed to click, and suddenly, Ryuk realised that he could indeed have his cake and eat it...

"I like the way you think. It's a deal, Felicity. And we Shinigami... we never break our deals..." Ryuk lied.

_Mello's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, Bangor, around the same time_

Mello was preparing himself for his 'big date' that had been planned for the whole of two days. While he wasn't meant to meet the woman until seven, he had been busy applying various concealable wire-taps and button-cameras to his his body and clothes. He also had an earphone which was directly connected to one of his wire-taps, which was disguised as a hearing aide.

He had put on a relatively suave-looking suit, one which he himself would never have chosen. Matt had chosen it, being the only one out of he, Near, and Mello that actually dressed somewhat normally. It was a mostly black, three-piece suit, with a white shirt. His tie was black, with a purple streak down it, giving off a feeling of refinement that didn't suit Mello one bit.

Walking out of his room, Mello walked to the next room along his hallway and knocked. Near opened the door, and instantly asked, "Are you prepared?"

Mello nodded, "Yes, I am."

Near smirked, "Good. Well, in that case, go and tell Matthew to come here..."

"In this suit?" Mello asked.

"Yes. In that suit." Near replied, his smile seeming to be one of sadistic enjoyment at Mello's discomfort.

Mello began to walk towards the exit of his flat, but then his common sense finally kicked in, "Hold on, you meant calling him, didn't you?"

Near didn't move from the partially opened door, and his voice mumbled, "Yes. You're still doing it in that suit, though."

Mello grunted at Near's bizarre attempt at a joke, and walked back into his room. Picking up his mobile phone, he highlighted a contact labelled 'Matt Dave', right under a certain other Matt's number, and pressed the green 'call' button.

After a short wait, he said, "Hey. It's Mike."

"Hi there, Mike!" Matt replied, his cheery-sounding voice an indicator that he was probably in a public place.

"Nathan said he wants you over at his place asap." Mello bluntly replied, "I hope that isn't an issue..."

"Not at all." Matt instantly replied, "So, right now? I thought this thing started at seven."

"Well, I decided to get ready early." Mello explained, "You know, just in case."

"I... don't know, but that's fine with me. I'll get going now." Matt concluded, and with that, the phone call ended.

Within a few minutes, Mello's phone began to buzz in his hand, prompting him to answer it, "What is it?"

"I'm waiting outside your flat. Let me in, will ya?" Matt asked.

"One minute." Mello replied, and hung up. He put his phone in his jacket's side-pocket, and walked out of his room.

Getting to his flat's exit, he opened the door, and let Matt in, "Right. You know where his room is. Just knock, and I'll get going."

Matt cocked his head, "Seriously, you're going already? It's, like, two hours too early."

"Well, I thought that given how dark the nights have been getting recently, I would go meet her a little earlier. We found out her home address, and so I can just knock on her door and we'll start our 'date' early." Mello mused.

Matt looked at Mello, as if trying to figure something out, "...hm. Wouldn't that draw attention? That you already know where she lives?"

Mello laughed to himself, "The woman's a vapid idiot. She thinks I'm crazy, and gets off on that very idea. She would love it if I turned out to be a stalker."

"Well, it's just that if I were a woman, I'd be scared, not turned on, by a stalker." Matt mused.

"Well, you're not an attention-seeking idiot, like her." Mello replied, "I know her type. Anyway, I'll see you later. Nathan will be waiting..."

Matt nodded, and left as Mello shut his flat's door shut. Matt knocked on the door labelled 'A110', and waited for the short, white-haired resident of the room to open it. Once he did, he walked in, no words being exchanged between the two.

Near crouched on his revolving chair, and mumbled, "Please, use the bed..."

"So, how are we going to get a feed of Mello's button cameras, and what have you?" Matt asked.

"Ah, you were wondering about that?" Near asked, "Well, L has recently purchased a web domain. It's called 'mystery phenomena snuff films dot com'. We pretty much guaranteed that no-one would search for such a website. Also, it is unlisted, meaning that typical search engines such as 'Google' will not show it on their lists. To tell you the truth, L paid 'Google' off. The bottom line is that we'll be watching several live streams, all of which are connected to Mello's cameras. L will be Skyping us, and watching the live-streams directly and uploading them as he watches them."

"Damn clever, I'll give you that." Matt replied, "I'm pretty sure no-one can come up with more secretive methods using publicly available tools than this 'L' figure..."

"Yes. It is. What I'm hoping to see is what plans both you and this Felicity woman have for Mello." Near mused.

"Are we still on this?" Matt exasperatedly asked.

"Yes. Mello seems to think of you as a friend, but I am not going to allow my emotions to get the better of me." Near murmured, "So, what are you hoping to achieve from this night?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know what the first killer would achieve by doing this. Anyway, let's just see how this turns out, shall we? I think this will ultimately turn out in both our and the first killer's favour..."

Near sighed in a slightly frustrated tone, and began a Skype-call to 'Ryuzaki'. Finally, L appeared on the other end of the line, and mumbled, "This is Ryuzaki. What is it?"

"Our operation is going to begin now. Mello has already set off on his way to Felicity Granger's house." Near mumbled.

L hummed to himself, and finally decided on a response, "He's being impulsive, insisting on starting early like this. Although, it'll be useful to catch Miss Granger off guard. If she's planning anything, and that monster Mello talked about is involved... then perhaps he could be interrupting her mid-discussion. The best plans require discussion and co-operation, after all."

Matt smirked, "Well, perhaps we're giving this woman too much credit. But still, better early than late, even if it's only a chance that she'll be off-guard..."

"Why'd you say that?" L asked, "Hmm... I imagine that the time isn't really a concern to the first killer. In fact, as far as the first killer is concerned, this 'date' is totally meaningless... if you are the first killer, that is. If you're the first killer, then your own date with Miss Granger may be important..."

"But haven't you already pointed out that I'd just kill her now that I know her name?" Matt asked.

"But now you'd want to deflect suspicion. That much is obvious." L mused, "Honestly, I though you'd be better than this..."

Matt folded his arms, "Look, if all you're going to do is throw accusations at me, then I don't see a point in me being here..."

L popped some kind of hard-boiled sweet into his mouth, "I do see a point in your being here, though. If you are, indeed, the first killer, you have a reason to want to work with the police to stop the person who so cruelly stole your powers. Also, I would much rather have an ally who can come up with facts about the people we're trying to catch out of thin air because they are in fact the first killer, and will be more invested than even our own agents in stopping our enemies..."

"So, you basically think you know I'm the first killer, and are working with me... why, because the first killer's killings were less frequent and thus is the lesser of two evils?" Matt asked.

"No. I just want to find out the mysterious method in which you kill. Then I'll put both you and Felicity behind bars." L mused, "Is that explanation satisfactory?"

"You're pretty honest, aren't you?" Matt remarked, "No point trying to refute someone so self-assured. Anyway, are you going to set up the live-stream?"

"Of course, you would be the most invested..." Near mumbled.

L turned away from his web-cam, and the sound of typing was heard. Near opened up 'Google Chrome', and accessed 'mystery phenomena snuff films dot com' directly via the URL bar. After the page loaded up, the browser loaded five separate video feeds, all separate button cameras, and one audio feed could be heard through the speakers.

At the moment, all that could be seen was different angles of the same thing- bobbing up and down characteristic of someone walking with a slight spring in their step...

_Belmont Road, directly after the former events_

Mello had found the street Felicity Granger lived on, and was now walking along the 'odd numbered' side of the road, until he found number forty-seven. Walking into the drive, he noticed the swanky car that now occupied the drive- a silver Porsche nine-eleven. It would seem that this second killer had been using their killings to get rich instead of smuggling apples, or whatever the first killer was doing.

Sighing to himself, Mello was about to knock on the house's door, but a voice made itself apparent in his left ear.

It was a monotonous, familiar voice to Mello, and it said, "Mello. I am just notifying you that we are currently monitoring your actions. Do not forget to say 'Apple-sauce' if you see that hideous monster you were talking about..."

Mello nodded, and this seemed to be enough to cue L to be quiet. Knocking on the door, Mello waited for a moment, before the woman he was waiting for looked out of the front window at him, before disappearing again and opening the door.

"Oh! Hello there, Mee- er, Michael! I didn't expect you to get here so early!" Felicity said all at once, "Come on in!"

Mello looked over the woman briefly, and walked into the house. She led him to her living room, which seemed adorned with the latest gadgets, with many a fancy ornament. Mello couldn't help but be impressed, and sat down on a hush, black leather couch.

"Wow... so, how much does a University Room Inspector make, exactly?" Mello asked, before faking embarrassment at asking such a personal question.

Felicity giggled to herself, and sat next to him, making sure she was almost leaning over him, "Naughty boy! You can't go asking a woman how much she earns... although, if you're the gold-digging type, I don't mind..."

Mello was a little put off by how close the woman was putting her face to his, and the fact that she was willing to be taken advantage of. It was hard to tell if this was an act or not...

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I just thought that this living room's pretty classy, that's all..." Mello replied, trying to edge as far from the woman as possible while looking around the room for the spectre he had seen recently.

"Oh, I see..." the woman replied, responding to Mello's edging away by closing in on him, "Well... the place we're going to isn't too fancy, it's just a little place. No reservations required, so we may as well show up early..."

"That's a relief." Mello awkwardly mumbled, trying to move his face away from Felicity's.

Felicity didn't seem to take in how repulsed Mello was, and brought her face closer to Mello, and whispered, "Do you want a kiss now?"

"Well, I wanted to be a gentleman..." Mello lied.

"...well, aren't you mature for your age?" Felicity replied, and then proceeded to kiss Mello regardless, and once she decided to free the unwilling prisoner from her lip's grasp, she continued by saying, "...it's a shame I'm not!"

Mello decided to get up as fast as the woman attached to him could allow, and said, "Uh... I need to go to the toilet..."

Felicity smiled at her victim, and said, "Oh, it's just upstairs, first room on the left."

"...thanks." Mello mumbled, and rushed from the room.

Heading into the bathroom, he shuddered, and mumbled, "I don't know if I can handle this. I could handle gangsters, serial killers, and bank robbers, but this woman... I can't stand it."

His earpiece began to talk again, "...don't worry, Mello. I think she's rather good-looking, myself."

"Shut up, you pervert." Mello replied.

"I'm a... pervert? You were the one who decided to attach a button camera to your breast-pocket..." L's voice replied, "I'm enjoying the view you're providing. I will also remind you that this is an important mission. Press her to get going to the restaurant, or this 'snuff film' site will become a pornographic site very quickly... not that that's any worse..."

Mello sighed, and walked back out of the bathroom. He walked awkwardly back down the stairs, and looked around the area rather than immediately entering the living room. He walked towards her kitchen, and turned on the light, seeing a flicker of something going through the wall before his thoughts were interrupted.

"Looking for me, honey?" Felicity asked in a voice clearly attempting to be seductive.

"Uh... yeah..." Mello mumbled, and began to turn around, but something caught his eye on his way around, and he turned back, and said, "...wait, what's that on the floor?"

Felicity walked up to Mello, and looked on the floor, where Mello was pointing. It was an apple core, lying next to the wall Mello had sworn he had seen something moving through.

"Oh, silly me, I must have missed the bin..." Felicity said, and walked towards the apple core, facing Mello as she bent over in an attempt to give him a view of her less-than-magnificent cleavage.

"She really does like you, doesn't she, Mello?" L's voice remarked for a moment, with Mello unable to do anything but silently feel anger at his mentor.

Placing the apple in the kitchen's bin, Felicity finally skipped over to Mello and said, "Well, thanks for spotting that! I swear I'm a better housekeeper than that usually. So, shall we get going?"

"I thought you'd never ask..." Mello said, masking his frustrated demeanour with false excitement.

Author's Note: I decided to end the chapter here to retain suspense, but trust me, I have been thinking long and hard about how this will turn out, and I have the story plotted out, like a boss.

So... what do ya reckon Matt has got planned? He has been the most quiet person in this chapter...


	12. 12: Four is Death

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 12- Four is Death**

_The Garden Cantonese Restaurant, Bangor High Street, Gwynedd, a few minutes later_

Mello and Felicity had spent their journey to Bangor's High Street in relative silence, although occasionally Felicity would make the occasional vapid statement, prompting Mello to come up with a forced, unnatural reply.

The two entered the restaurant and were instantly greeted by a friendly-looking man who was most likely of Chinese descent. He smiled at the two, and asked in Pigeon English, "Table for two?"

"But of course!" Felicity replied in a voice that indicated she did, in fact, know how society worked, "Are there any tables free?"

"Yes. Shall I show you?" the man asked.

Mello nodded, and the man led them to a small table by a window. The restaurant was quite small, and lacked space, yet was as well-adorned as a Cantonese Restaurant could be, with various paintings of Chinese Emperors of old on the walls, which themselves seemed to be covered in velvet. Mello smiled to himself- he could see why she would bring him somewhere like this. It was certainly a place designed to impress.

"Here are the menus." the man said, handing two folded pieces of card to Felicity and Mello, "What would you like to drink? Our special wine tonight is Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon..."

Before Mello could open his mouth, Felicity said, "Oh, yes, that sounds perfect!"

"The price of it is..." the man began to say, before being cut off by Felicity.

"Money is no object. We'll pay what we have to pay." Felicity somewhat insistently said, making the man's friendly face shift ever so slightly.

"Yes, Miss. I shall bring it as soon as possible." the man said, before walking away.

Mello had ignored the entire exchange from the point he had been interrupted, and instead was keeping an eye out for anything strange. That... thing... he was sure he had seen it in Felicity's house. The apple core was not a coincidence... Mello was sure of that much.

Mello's thoughts were interrupted by the person who seemed to determined to do as much interruption as possible within one night, who was asking him, "So, Mike honey, what course are you doing at your university?"

Mello adjusted his breast-pocket, as if feeling a little under pressure by the cameras on his person, "...uh... I'm doing Criminology and Psychology. Joint honours. It's really quite boring at the moment. They're not teaching anything I don't already know..."

Felicity smiled at the young man, "Well, I'm sure that it will eventually change. I'm quite interested in criminals myself..."

Mello resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Is that so? Well, tell me, have you heard of the rumours?"

"Rumours?" Felicity asked, her tone of voice slightly more serious than before, "Rumours about what?"

"Well, about the supernatural killer..." Mello said, loud enough to make it seem like it was a publicly available conspiracy theory, "...it's pretty scary, you know. They say that criminals are dropping like flies 'cos of someone causing heart attacks..."

"Someone who can cause heart attacks?" Felicity's voice was now shaky, her cover becoming gradually more unstable, "That's a pretty crazy idea. I mean, I've found it weird that so many criminals have been dying recently, but I always thought it was a government conspiracy... you know, criminals get assassinated, and then investigators get paid off by the government to say that they're heart attacks."

Mello smirked. That was a pretty good theory, if it wasn't a really good excuse. However, Mello knew L would have no intention of covering up the incidents, or collaborating with a government that would. He couldn't tell Felicity that, but he could tell her something else that was publicly available.

"Well, what seems odd to me is that set of terrorists- you know the ones that were about to attack that Egyptian holiday resort? They all just kicked the bucket at the same time! All in plain view on the news! No government could have faked that!" Mello said, feigning enthusiasm that he almost certainly wouldn't normally express, "I'm telling you, there's something spooky going on. That's no coincidence."

"Oh my, you are the crazy one, aren't you?" Felicity mused, "I hope that I get to see all sides of this crazy you..."

L's voice spoke up in Mello's ear, "...don't worry. If that happens, I'll turn off the camera. Okay, I'm lying, but I will only be watching for your own safety..."

Mello didn't need this. Surely L knew that he would have to act effectively for this operation to work... or perhaps he wanted to speak to him about something else... Mello sighed. He knew that there was no way he was going to ask L for answers right here. Covering his face with his menu, Mello paused for a moment, before he mumbled, "I think I'm gonna have the Lachang, duck, and rice. I'm just gonna go to the men's room before we start drinking..."

Felicity nodded, "Oh. Okay. If the guy comes, I'll order for you. I know what I want, anyway..."

Mello looked at Felicity before he walked away... something was... off about her. Like she had suddenly become more confident for no reason. He navigated his way through the tiny amount of walking space he had, and entered the men's room with no problems. Looking in the large mirror to check the area for anyone in the room, Mello sighed to himself, and opened his mouth, but suddenly stopped as he saw a pair of black boots through the lower opening of one cubical.

Mello decided to wait it out, and was surprised to hear a voice before he heard a door open. Lo and behold, standing over him was the very same spectre he had seen the other day.

"Well, hello again, Mihael. It's good to talk to you again..." Ryuk calmly said to Mello, who was still slightly unnerved by the creature despite expecting his presence this time around.

"Apple-sauce! Apple-sauce!" Mello shouted, pointing his breast-pocket's button camera at Ryuk, "You can see it, right? Tell me you can see it too!"

"Mello, I cannot see anything. Are you sure you're pointing the button camera at the monster?" L's voice replied.

"Mihael, it's no good. I will not appear to any camera unless the human who is looking into the camera has touched a piece of the Death Note..." Ryuk continued to calmly talk to the erratic man.

"D-d-death Note? What are you talking about?" Mello asked desperately, "You... you're the one who gives these people power, aren't you?"

"Perhaps. Mihael, I have something important to tell you." Ryuk's face cracked into an even greater grin, and his eyes glowed blood-red, "I am a Shinigami. A God of Death. And as such, I can cause death in humans easily."

Mello began to stammer, "Sh-sh-sh-shinigami? Death God? No... no..."

L's voice began to show concern, "Mello, are you okay? I am not sure if this is a hallucination, but I cannot see anything... what is it saying?"

Mello spoke back, "He says that you can't see him because you need to touch something called a..."

Ryuk suddenly put his hand over Mello's face, "Say any more, and I'll kill you."

Mello's eyes were wide open in fear, and his heart was beating the same speed as a mouse's. All he could do was look at Ryuk in fear, trembling at the thought that he could die.

"Mello? Mello? What is it you have to touch to see him?" L's voice asked.

Mello remained silent, and Ryuk looked at him with a ravenous expression, "Mihael Keehl. That's your name. Now, most humans can't hear me, but I want you to tell the world of your name. That way it can be heard. Got it?"

Mello began to speak, "...so... so you want me to say it?"

"I'm doing this to save your skin, believe it or not. All I want you to do is shout your full name out to the restaurant. If you don't, I'll kill you. But if you do, then I'll leave you alone. Do we have a deal?" Ryuk asked.

"But if I give out my name, I'll be killed anyway..." Mello began to say, but Ryuk already had an answer.

"I know a lot more about the methods of which the killers you seek kill. I know it seems hard, but trust me, just this once. I won't be so nice to you the next time we meet..." Ryuk said, his voice full of threat, yet with a somewhat honest tone.

"I have no choice..." Mello mused.

"Mello, what do you have to do?" L asked.

"I'm going to shout my name out to the restaurant. The spectre says he's doing it to help me." Mello mumbled.

"And you believe him?" L replied.

"He'll kill me if I don't." Mello responded.

Static in Mello's ear indicated L was about to say something, but was wondering what to say, "Mello, I hope you know what you are doing."

"I don't, but what choice to I have?" Mello whispered, and with that, he exited the Men's Room, and took a large breath in, before shouting, "MY NAME IS MIHAEL KEEHL!"

Felicity, who was busy telling the waiter her order, overheard the shout, and smiled slightly before sending the waiter away. She looked in the direction that the curious heads of other customers were turning, waiting for something entirely different.

Meanwhile, just outside the Men's Room, Ryuk whispered, "Good job. Now, go back in the men's room and wait for me to return before sitting back at your table."

Mello grunted and went into the bathroom, knowing he had no choice, with Ryuk following to make sure he did. Despite the desperation of his current situation, Mello smiled, as he had figured something important out- this 'God of Death' was at least somewhat affiliated with Felicity. Why else would he ban him from his table? Once the Shinigami left the room, Mello began to talk to L.

"L, the spectre said that he's a Shinigami... a God of Death. Apparently, you need to touch 'Death Note' to see him... but I don't remember doing anything like that..." Mello mused, "...what could a Death Note even be? A piece of paper that causes deaths, like a sticky note or something?"

L's voice seemed to be relieved, "So, has the monster left you alone? Is that why you can speak now?"

"Yeah. Just for a short while. I don't know what he's doing now..." Mello mused.

Meanwhile, Ryuk very much did know what he was doing, and approached Felicity, cackling as he sat in Mello's chair, "So, Felicity. You got his name? I've kept him in the bathroom for as long as you need to write his name..."

Felicity smiled, and said, "Wow, you're quite smart, aren't you?" before stopping herself, due to it being a public place, and got out her Death Note.

"Meeheil Cayl..." Felicity murmured, "...hmm. How would one spell that?"

Ryuk began to giggle, his laugh working its way gradually upwards.

"Huh? What is it?" Felicity asked, seemingly unconscious that people were beginning to give her funny looks.

"Oh, nothing. Get writing that name down, Felicity. I'd hate to see this effort go to waste." Ryuk replied.

Felicity began to sweat, and said, "So, um... how do you spell it?"

"We Shinigami cannot directly give out names, remember? And I think that getting Mihael to write his name down is a tad unfair. I want to uphold my agreement to leave him alone..." Ryuk dryly said, feigning honesty despite standards clearly not being the things stopping him.

"Okay... well, how hard can it be? It's not like there's anyone else called that." Felicity said to herself, having totally lost sight of the public around her.

She wrote down 'Meehail Cayl', and quietly asked, "Is that the correct spelling? You can tell me that, right?"

"No to the first question and yes to the second." Ryuk quickly answered.

Felicity sighed, and wrote down, 'Miheil Kail'. Ryuk shook his head. She wrote 'Mihael Kail' next. Ryuk still shook his head, his eyes shinier than ever. Finally, she wrote down 'Meehael Khail'. At this, Ryuk began to snigger, his laughter progressively becoming more uncontrolled.

"W-w-what is it?" Felicity asked.

Ryuk began to laugh more raucously, and didn't stop for a good twenty seconds. Finally, he said, "Well, I'll let Mihael back here. I'm sure you'd like to see him before he dies..."

Felicity nodded, and watched the Shinigami leave. People were looking at her, and quietly discussing what on earth she was doing. Finally, Mello walked back to the table, and sat down.

"Sorry about that. Something strange happened in the toilet, heh heh." Mello mused, "Toilet water everywhere. I had to clean it up. It'd be wrong of me otherwise..."

Felicity was still flustered, and laughed nervously, "Well, I think that's very good-hearted of you, Mee... er... Michael."

Felicity looked at Mello intently. What was this? Why was he still alive? More than forty seconds had passed... what was going on? Did Ryuk somehow make a mistake? This didn't add up... something was wrong. Felicity began to panic, but surprisingly kept her cool on the outside, and decided to continue the date as if she genuinely wanted to get with him...

_Near's Room, A110, Enlli, during the former events_

Near and Matt were watching the button camera's feeds intently, and, for whatever reason, Mello had decided to excuse himself. It was probably to contact both L and themselves.

Near looked to Matt, "Doesn't it seem odd that Mello hasn't seen that monster yet? I wonder... if this monster is related to the killers' powers, is it loyal to the killer?"

Matt tried his best not to change expression. As far as he knew, Ryuk was the type of person to answer to no-one. A loose cannon. It seemed that bribery was the only way to earn his allegiance, and even then, there was every chance that Ryuk could defect. What was stopping him? Right now, Matt didn't care if Ryuk was working for Felicity or him, all that mattered was that he was working against Mello...

"Who knows? We don't even know if it exists yet..." Matt mused, and jumped slightly as he heard a certain voice saying 'Well, hello again, Mihael. It's good to talk to you again'.

"Well, we'll see if..." Near began to say, but was cut off by the sound of Mello's voice shouting 'Apple-sauce' repeatedly.

"Huh? What the hell?" Matt asked, feigning surprise despite the fact that he had heard for himself that Ryuk was the first to speak.

The camera angles became shaky and erratic as a quite clearly frightened Mello shouted through the wire-tap, "You can see it, right? Tell me you can see it too!"

Near smiled darkly, and while L made a response to Mello, he said to Matt, "So, tell me, can you see anything, Matthew? Because it seems that you got shocked before I did..."

Matt cursed himself. How did Near pick up on that? It was clear that neither L nor his successors were to be underestimated. Every mistake counted. Matt was beginning to feel that pressure of the situation crumbling in on him. Things suddenly went from bad to worse, though, as Ryuk's voice said, 'Mihael, it's no good. I will not appear to any camera unless the human who is looking into the camera has touched a piece of the Death Note...'

Matt gulped. This was bad... Ryuk was telling him everything. What was the point in this? Ryuk kept going, telling him that he was a Death God, and Mello's terrified voice attempted to relay the message through the speakers of Near's laptop until eventually, he suddenly went quiet, as if muffled by someone.

L's voice was heard asking, "Mello? Mello? What is it you have to touch to see him?"

However, Mello was deathly silent. Matt could see clear as day why. Ryuk's arm was covering the view of his breast-pocket button camera, meaning that Ryuk had decided to cover his mouth. So... he didn't want L and Near to know this... was this some kind of message to Mello and Mello alone? Why would he want to do that?

Near looked at Matt's reactions to the unfolding events. He seemed to be listening while both Mello and L were completely silent, as if there was something speaking... this, combined with Mello's sudden silence implied that whatever this spectre was, it was very much real, and both Mello and Matt could see it perfectly. The fact that Matt was hiding that fact meant that undoubtedly, he was the first killer. All that they needed to do was find solid proof of this.

However, the next event managed to sufficiently shocked both Matt and Near, as Mello began to say sentence fragments that implied he was being pressured to reveal his name. Matt, able to hear the other side of the conversation, was utterly absorbed in the exchange... Ryuk wanted him to shout his name out... was this to reveal it to Felicity? If he wanted to have him killed, why was he bothering to tell Mello all of this information? What was going on?

L's voice was becoming noticeably worried, "Mello, what do you have to do?"

"I'm going to shout my name out to the restaurant. The spectre says he's doing it to help me." Mello's voice replied.

"And you believe him?" L legitimately asked. Matt couldn't help but agree. Ryuk would have no reason to help Mello...

"He'll kill me if I don't." Mello's voice finally concluded, and after a long pause, L let his successor go, fearing the worst.

"Mello, I hope you know what you are doing." L quietly mumbled, a strange sadness in his voice.

Finally, it happened. Mello shouted his true name out into the restaurant at the top of his voice. Matt's eyes widened... this was his true name... Meeheil Kail, was it? Such a name seemed difficult to spell... and without a correct spelling, the Death Note was almost useless...

Matt suddenly went pale. He had figured it out... Ryuk _was _telling the truth. He was saving Mello. He was probably working for Felicity superficially, and so that was her plan. She was going to abuse Ryuk's ability to threaten humans into doing as he asked to her advantage and bypass the Shinigami laws, yet still acquire Mello's true name. However, Ryuk abused a technicality in the agreement, and has only made him say it out loud... what was it Ryuk had said when he had accidentally killed Michael Cain? Misspelling a name in the Death Note four times would render the potential victim... immune to the Death Note.

Mello began to report back to Near and L, and Matt sat there in silence, feeling slightly nauseous with worry... Mello was going to be immune to the Death Note... and on top of that, he can see Ryuk. Matt had created his own immortal, immune nemesis by enacting a stupid plot just to find the second killer and get his notebook back. He still had Death Note pages for himself, and with Ryuk away with Felicity, he could have lived a normal life again...

But his urge to be in control had led to his downfall. His pent-up frustration was like a volcanic caldera, bubbling fiercely and desperately needing to escape. Suddenly, out loud, he screamed, "NO!"

By this point, Mello had just said 'Yeah. Just for a short while. I don't know what he's doing now...' and Near simply turned to Matt, knowing the outburst was totally out of context, "What is it, Matthew? The danger is over for the moment..."

Matt stuttered, with several false starts, before he came up with an excuse, "She's gonna kill him anyway! She's got his name! This whole thing's a Morton's Fork for Mello! He's going to die no matter what!"

Near looked down, and mumbled, "That is a possibility, but if that is the case, then there is nothing we can do. Shouting certainly won't help the situation..."

Matt sighed, "Sorry. I guess that the idea that I could see him die right here is scary..."

Matt had bigger problems than that, though. His only hope now was that Felicity somehow guessed the correct spelling of his name...

The camera feed showed Ryuk phase through the men's room door, and say to Mello, "Well, Mihael. I'm done here. I don't know if I'll see you again or not, but it's been fun... go back and see your girlfriend, or whatever. Have fun!"

Matt quivered. What did that mean? The past tense... was Mello going to die? Near seemed just as tense as Mello himself.

After a short wait, Mello said, "Okay, L. He's left me alone. I'm going to continue the date now..."

L's voice breathed a sigh of relief, and seemed to show significant emotion for the first time for both Mello and Near, "I'm... glad."

Mello's button camera feed began to shift location, and eventually, the feed was simply that of a regular date. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. While Mello occasionally slipped in questions about the case, for the most part, neither seemed particularly suspicious... and throughout it, Mello continued to talk...

Matt frowned. This either meant that Felicity had failed to kill him or had not tried to kill him yet... as the date continued, neither explanation seemed more viable than the other, and finally, Felicity took Mello back into her house, and the two seemed to kiss each other judging by the almost blacked-out view provided by the breast-pocket camera... at this point, Near closed the browser window, and mused, "I'll leave the rest of surveillance to you, L."

Matt smirked in an attempt to casually laugh along with the joke, but within himself, a great anxiety was filling his mind, and seemed almost overflowing.

Mello was going to be immune from the Death Note. That was the most likely outcome. Matt ran through the possible permutations for the spellings of 'Meeheil Kail' in his mind, and knew that they far exceeded four. It was possible that Felicity could succeed, but it seemed all the more likely that from this point onwards, at least one enemy would never be able to be eliminated...

Author's Notes: Ugh, I hate writing different perspectives of the same event. (looks over books) Oh yeah, I did that with my Touhou series on an 'Entire Book' scale. Silly me.

However, this time there's no fun Lemony Narration. Just boring ol' me narration.


	13. 13: A Group Holiday

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 13- A Group Holiday**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, eight o'clock ante-meridian the next day_

Felicity's bedroom was a veritable mess, the floor strewn with parts of both Mello's suit and her clothing. The usually oversized double bed within it now contained the intended amount of people sleeping within it, namely Felicity and her night's 'conquest'.

Mello woke up first, and rolled over in his bed to look at Felicity's still-sleeping face. He shuddered to himself, and quickly exited the bed to thrown on his clothes from yesterday. Mello was about to rush out of the bedroom without even saying 'goodbye' to Felicity, however, a voice in his ear stopped him from doing so.

"Good to see you're awake again, Mello." L's voice mumbled, "I must say, you did things a little differently to how things were planned..."

Mello grunted. He whispered, "I did what I had to. Why are you talking to me?"

"Ah. Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favour... can you try and steal Felicity's 'Death Note', if indeed she possesses one?" L asked, "And if you do, please don't tell Matthew Dave about it."

"Understood." Mello whispered, "But how will I know what to look for?"

"I don't know... but clearly the purpose of the object must be obvious enough that someone like Felicity Granger can use it..." L answered.

Mello nodded, and looked around the bedroom for Felicity's handbag, thinking it to be the first choice a woman would use to hide anything suspicious. However, he couldn't find the handbag in the room, and so he had to think back to the night before...

...they... they went back to this house, they kissed for... a while, and then they went onto the sofa... and eventually moved upstairs, but when did she put her handbag down? Perhaps the Shinigami moved it for her?

Mello crept out of the bedroom and tip-toed down Felicity's stairs, and walked into the living room. There, he found Felicity's handbag lying in plain view on the floor. Smiling slightly, he proceeded to rummage through the bag, and found a purse, a miniature diary, and various other unmentionable objects that no man should have any business with. Mello scowled. Where could she have hidden it? She wouldn't have not brought it with her to the date, and she certainly hadn't hidden it under her clothes...

Suddenly, a scratchy, unsettling voice was heard from behind Mello, "Are you looking for this?"

Mello turned around instantly, and jumped in shock at the sight of the eight-foot Shinigami stood over him. In his hands was a book with the title 'Death Note' written on the front of it.

"Hello again, Mihael. I'm impressed at your gall. I just want to tell you that you owe me big time." Ryuk remarked.

"What the hell do I owe you for?" Mello asked.

"Well, Mihael, yesterday, I saved your life. Or, at the very least, prevented your death." Ryuk explained, "Allow me to tell you the full story. Okay, look in the Death Note..." Ryuk handed the Death Note to Mello, who tentatively took it, not sure what to make of it, "Just turn to the inside cover."

Mello did as commanded, and looked at the rules written on the inside of the Death Note. There were various rules written on the inside, the most prominent being 'The person whose name is written in this notebook shall die'. Mello gulped. This was it... this was the artefact of power that the killers had been using...

Ryuk chuckled to himself, "Now, have you memorised all of the rules?" Ryuk stopped to clarify that Mello had. After Mello nodded, Ryuk continued, "Now, the pages in that notebook are filled with names. Why not turn to the last page that has writing on?"

Mello obliged, not knowing what else to do. He flicked through the pages, looking in horror at the countless names that had been written down, the absurd conditions of death in the earlier half and the sheer amount of names that filled the second half. Noting the difference in handwriting, Mello could tell exactly when the first killer lost his notebook and it wound up in Felicity's hands. Finally, he reached the latest used page, which had four names scribbled down in haste.

Meeheil Cayl, Miheil Kail, Mihael Kail, Meeheil Hail. All of them were misspellings of... his true name. Mello's eyes widened, and he swiftly flicked back to the inside cover. The Death Note... is rendered useless if a victims name is spelled wrong four times. Mello looked up at Ryuk, his face full of confusion.

"But... why?" Mello asked.

Ryuk laughed to himself, "This is all a game to me. I figured having a powerful piece like you would be fun. Just so you know, only that notebook is ineffective against you. I have a notebook of my own..." Ryuk proceeded to demonstrate by pulling a black notebook with words of an unknown language written on the front from a holster at his waist, "...and I can still kill you with it."

L's voice was suddenly heard in Mello's ear, "...Mello, what's wrong? You're talking to yourself... is the 'God of Death' here? Is what you're currently holding the 'Death Note'?"

"Yes." Mello replied, "The God of Death gave it to me. What should I do?"

"Take it back to Near's Room." L replied, "I hope that we can finally get to the bottom of this case with this..."

Ryuk suddenly glared at Mello, "I can hear what the human who is contacting you is saying. We Shinigami have many enhanced features compared to you humans, and our hearing is impeccable. Mihael, I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

Mello stopped, and whispered, "Yes, L. I'm gonna get out of here..."

Ryuk looked on as Mello walked out of Felicity's house, and Ryuk began to cackle, "Mihael. You won't escape me. I'll let you go for now, but I wouldn't want the game to end this easily..."

Mello ignored the Shinigami, and slammed the door behind him, causing Felicity to stir from her sleep. Ryuk laughed to himself... now was the time he would cause a stir himself. He floated up Felicity's stairs, and finally walked into her bedroom.

The woman was rubbing her eyes, and finally opened them to see Ryuk standing at the doorway, staring at her blankly, causing her to instantly cover herself with her blanket.

"Ah! Ryuk! What are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?" Felicity asked, "Were you jealous of me and Meeheil last night?"

"You were too loud." Ryuk stated, "I just want to tell you that you left your handbag on the floor of the living room."

Felicity gasped, and threw on a dressing gown, and rushed downstairs. She picked up her handbag, and rifled through the contents frantically.

"No! No! Ryuk, why didn't you stop him?" Felicity asked, "And another thing, why didn't he die? What's going on?"

Ryuk shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. But while I was unable to interfere with him, I did rip some pages from the Death Note..." Ryuk stopped talking, and handed Felicity some pieces of paper, "Here. You can still kill if you want to. But... don't waste it all in one go. I guess Mihael was the original killer after all..."

"Wait, so you don't know?" Felicity asked, her naivety getting the better of her.

"I'm just feigning ignorance. I cannot tell you more than I have to, nor do I want to." Ryuk mused, "Anyway, I have to follow him, now. He is the one in possession of the Death Note..."

"Wait! So I can follow you!" Felicity said, her voice filling with excitement.

"If you want. I'm not going to hang around, though. I'm certainly not going to wait for you to put your clothes on." Ryuk dryly replied, "Goodbye, Felicity. We may meet again... although now that Mihael has the Death Note, I have to admit the chances of that are minimal..."

Felicity's eyes filled with tears, "Wait... what... what are you saying?"

"You aren't anywhere near as preoccupied with hiding yourself or planning as the original killer. You've probably made enough mistakes to have gotten yourself killed. I must admit, that does make me sad, but who am I to interfere?" Ryuk was feigning sad resignation as best as he possibly could, but was finding it difficult not to burst into laughter.

"Ryuk! Ryuk! Please! Please, save me! I'll... I'll do anything! I'll... I'll... what do you want from me? I know you find me attractive, so perhaps..." Felicity began to say, before she was cut off.

"Not once have I displayed attraction to you. You're a human. I have no intention of throwing my life away for you." Ryuk replied, before realising he had just made a mistake.

"Huh? Throw your life away? But you're immortal..." Felicity replied.

Ryuk growled, "Right, right, I'll tell you something. Hell, it'll make you worth keeping alive to the first killer, since he would prefer me gone. A Shinigami will die if they kill a person that is about to cause the death of another human. The human that was saved will gain the current lifespan of the Shinigami who has died for them. Many Shinigami have used this as an elaborate form of suicide, the most recent being an idiot named Gelus... speaking of which, I wonder what Rem's up to..."

Suddenly, Ryuk's eyes lit up. His face cracked into a truly menacing grin, and he began to giggle to himself. Rem... another Shinigami with a spare Death Note... she would be the perfect addition to this twisted game. The more Ryuk thought his plan through, the more he laughed, and the more disconcerted Felicity became.

"Um... Ryuk? What is it?" Felicity asked.

"Oh, I'm going to have fun. Felicity, I want you to make sure you check your front garden regularly... I think I can help you..." Ryuk quietly, venomously said.

Felicity was confused to say the very least, "So... who's side are you on?"

"I'm not on anyone's side. You should know better than to trust a Shinigami." Ryuk bluntly stated, "But I think that it's not out of the question that I treat you... as long as you buy me that Apple Plantation you promised..."

Felicity sighed, "Okay... Ryuk... will I see you again?"

"Can't say. But what I can say is that you may not be as vulnerable as you think." Ryuk whispered, "Now, I have work to do..."

With that, Ryuk's back sprouted wings, and he leapt straight through Felicity's ceiling, leaving nary a trace of his existence on the human world...

_The Shinigami Realm, time-zone and current time unknown_

Ryuk ascended from the large hole in the ground of the Shinigami Realm, and was greeted by the same suicide-inducing grey that he was originally running away from. However, something about the place... gave him a touch of nostalgia. It was like he was reunited with something, although quite what he was unsure of.

Landing on the dust-strewn ground, Ryuk walked through the Shinigami realm, looking around the mostly empty mass of colourlessness, firstly to try and spot Rem and secondly to avoid Sidoh. Finally, the Shinigami he was looking for came into his view.

She was a pale white creature, tall and hunched, with long arms, similar in body form to Ryuk himself. Her body was covered in pale white plates most likely constructed of bone, and her face was bandaged, with what seemed like purple dreadlocks filled with Cnidarian Mesoglea hanging from the top of her head.

Ryuk approached the Shinigami, who was sat by a small hole in the ground, a sort of viewing hole for the human world. Punching her in the arm slightly, Ryuk said, "Hey, what you looking at?"

"I'm looking at the human that Gelus died for." Rem mumbled.

"Oh. I see. What does she look like?" Ryuk asked.

Rem shuffled to the side, and offered Ryuk a place to sit, "She's the one with the blonde hair. She looks so happy, doesn't she?"

"Misa Amane?" Ryuk said with slight confusion, "Tell me, what was it Gelus liked so much about her? Seems like just another dumb human to me..."

"I am not sure. I wonder if there are other humans who are like that..." Rem mused, "...humans that are loveable even by Shinigami..."

Ryuk let loose a mixture between a cough and a laugh, "Well, I just came back from the human world. I happened to meet a human that really liked me. She was even stupid enough to consider me her friend!"

Rem looked at Ryuk. His constant eerie grin was such a contrast to her perpetual frown, and made the Shinigami seem inherently untrustworthy, yet for some reason, Rem had no reason to doubt him. It was like his smile was telling her that he had genuinely enjoyed his time in the human world.

"...really? What was this human's name?" Rem asked, "I don't want to ruin her life. That's the only reason I haven't given Gelus' notebook to Misa..."

"Her name's Felicity Granger. Lonely, affectionate type. Gives you lots of apples. Already ruined her life with my own notebook. She's a friend worth having! Say, with Gelus' notebook, you have a spare notebook, don't you?" Ryuk said, acting as if he had only just remembered despite that obviously not being the case.

"Yes..." Rem looked down into the 'viewing area' again, "Ryuk, what was the human world like?"

"It's fun. In fact, my notebook is still in a human's possession, so I kinda have to return there. I was just dropping by." Ryuk got up, and began to walk slowly towards the hole he had entered the Shinigami World from.

Rem looked at Ryuk as he left, her thoughts running through her head. Curiosity had begun to enter her mind, and suddenly, the prospect of a little change in her life became attractive.

"Ryuk. May I come with you?" Rem asked, remaining seated and looking away from Ryuk as she said it.

Ryuk feigned a friendly smile as best as he could, and replied with, "I thought you'd never ask! It'll be fun if I bring a friend along with me on this holiday!"

"I am not your friend." Rem muttered, "Ryuk, tell me where to go, and I shall meet with this Felicity Granger."

Ryuk nodded, "Well, Rem, just follow me, and prepare to be amazed!"

Rem got up, and began to walk towards Ryuk, "Very well. To see the human world and befriend a human... I will trust you."

Ryuk let out a short, stifled laugh, "You won't regret it. I'm sure that Gelus would have taken this offer just as quickly if he were around..."

_Belle View Public House, Upper Bangor, Gwynedd, eight o'clock post-meridian_

Matt had decided that instead of spending time with Near and Mello, he would simply relax in a pub for a while and forget his troubles before his 'date' with Felicity the next day. He knew exactly what he was going to do... he was going to simply take the Death Note from Felicity at an opportunity when he could remove his button camera.

It seemed simple enough, but for whatever reason, he thought that L had planned ahead... as Matt sipped on a Brother's Strawberry Cider, watching his friend play at the open mic night, he couldn't help but be preoccupied with his operations despite his attempts to relax and detach himself. His studying ability had also greatly deteriorated... this whole situation had ruined his life, but if he got caught now, things would only go from bad to worse...

...or would they? Prison at least offered a comfortable place to live and free food. And even if he got shipped over to a country where he could be legally executed, Matt was beginning to think death wasn't such a bad thing... however, before he could do that, at the very least he had to retrieve the Death Note from Felicity. Matt felt inside his pockets, and pulled out a piece of paper.

He thought to himself... what if he were to just kill Felicity and get this over with? He'd get caught, but so what? Life was becoming more and more meaningless to Matt, and more and more he was realising that truly, human life was a mere speck on the universe's face. What made him so special?

Putting the piece of paper back in his pocket, he took a large gulp of his drink, and tried to just forget about the whole horrid business for at least a few hours... however, fate seemed to conspire against that, as a certain white-haired boy walked into the pub, a familiar woman draped onto his arm.

Near sat at the mostly empty table that Matt was sitting at, and asked somewhat belatedly, "May we sit here?"

Matt looked at Near, his melancholy expression unchanging, and then looked to Naomi, who's smile seemed to force Matt to do so as well.

"Sure." Matt mused, "Just watching Dan. He's a damn good musician. I'm honoured to be his flatmate."

Near smiled awkwardly, "I see. Well, I'm not so familiar with popular music, so you'll have to excuse me if I can't sing along..."

Naomi rested her head on Near's shoulder, and nuzzled him a little, as if she was a puppy rather than a person, and said, "Oh, Nathan, you're so charmingly awkward..."

Matt couldn't say he wasn't a little jealous... Naomi was hardly a bad-looking woman. Taking another swig of cider, he asked Near, "So, you want a drink? I'll buy one for you..."

Near smiled, "Ah, yes. Sixteen year-olds can drink alcohol in an on-license as long as an adult buys the drink, right?"

Naomi suddenly became animatedly defensive, and said, "No! No! If anyone's buying Nathan drinks, it'll be me!"

Matt sat back and rolled his eyes, "Hmph. Fine with me, that saves me money. You heard the woman, it's her problem now!"

Near rather liked Matt's sarcasm despite his status as a killer. High-functioning psychopaths... ones which know society and play by the rules... were usually rather likeable people, if only as a façade. Near sighed to himself, and was feeling a strange sense of loss...

While he was lost in thought, Naomi was asking Near what he wanted to drink. Near finally entered the real world again, and he mumbled, "Whatever the cheapest lager is..."

"Oh, you're so nice!" Naomi replied, "You don't have to drink cheap stuff just because I'm buying..."

Near twisted a lock of his hair, "Actually, I'll pay you back. I just don't want to pay a lot myself..."

Naomi stood up, and said, "Nonsense! I'm going to buy you a drink!"

Near feigned reluctance, "If you really want to, I guess I have no choice..."

Naomi once again smiled with a genuine cheerfulness, and walked towards the bar, and eventually left the two's auditory sphere. Near looked towards her for a moment, before he leaned towards Matt and began to whisper something to him.

"Matthew. I have something important to tell you." Near carefully said, covering his mouth in the process.

"What?" Matt replied.

"I just want to say that L and I have been reviewing footage of you in your bedroom. Beyond behaviour fitting that of a typical university student, we noticed at one point, shortly after you were accused strongly of being the killer, you threw a miniature hissy-fit in your room. Not only that, but we observed floating pieces of paper in your room at one point. If we were to allow Mello to look over that footage, what do you think we'd see?" Near quietly and confidently told Matt.

Matt gulped. Near knew everything. There was no point in hiding anything any more. Near's cold, black eyes stared into his, and pierced his very soul. He wasn't bluffing. He had foiled him. Revealed that he was a killer.

Matt shuddered, and finally said, "Near, if you know this, then why haven't you arranged my arrest yet?"

"We need you to..." Near began to say, before being cut off by the arrival of Naomi, carrying two drinks.

"Hey, you two. Your faces seem pretty close to each other... what are you two whispering about?" Naomi asked as she put the drinks down, "Hey, Matt, are you gay?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Matt understandably questioned.

"Well... it's... it's nothing, really. I just was thinking that since you and Nathan spend so much time with each other, and well... uh..." Naomi put her hands behind her back, "...I just wanted to make sure of... certain things..."

Matt sighed. He would normally have found this funny, but the cold stare Near was giving him was draining all attempts to find good in anything. He was a boxed crook now. Near had said all he needed to. He was already caught. They had enough on him. The end was near for him, and he was only delaying the inevitable by being necessary for something. Perhaps it was information they desired, or his assistance in Felicity's capture...

...Matt could only hope that if he collaborated, they would be more lenient, though the chances of that were slim...


	14. 14: Remember the New Gal

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 14- Remember the New Gal**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, nine o'clock the next morning_

Felicity rubbed her eyes as she slowly entered reality after a not-so-peaceful sleep. Her security blanket seemed to have evaporated within one day. The first killer... Meeheil, or whatever... had gotten his notebook back. Her stomach was sick, nausea befitting of her situation permeating her body. Her death was inevitable...

She instinctively looked around her room for the unsettling figure of Ryuk, but soon stopped. Curling up and closing her eyes, she clung to her duvet with fear.

Ryuk... Ryuk told her to do something before he left... what was it? Check her front garden regularly? Why did he ask her to do such an absurd thing? However, that said, he did tell her that she wasn't as vulnerable as she thought... what was he doing?

Was he trying to protect her? It felt... somewhat nice that Ryuk could have been concerned about her like that, even if he was a horrific monster.

Felicity opened her eyes out of the blue. She had a date tonight, didn't she? It was that nice student, the one with the black hair, who had asked her on a date... Felicity sighed to herself. She should have picked him first. Oh well... if she was going to die soon, she may as well have fun.

Finally feeling motivated enough to get out of bed, she decided to get ready, and after having a shower, put on some relatively plain clothes compared to her extravagant wear she wore on her disastrous date with Michael Caine.

Walking outside, she decided to do as Ryuk said and check her front garden. It was a relatively small area, with a row of well-trimmed hedge and a small five-metre by five-metre square of grass comprising the majority of it. However, most conspicuously, sitting in the middle of the not-so-grand garden was a small, black book with a set of strange symbols on the front.

Felicity cocked her head. Was this a Death Note? It looked slightly different... Felicity was sure the first one had an English title. Walking up to it, Felicity picked it up and investigated the book. Opening the book, she flicked through the pages to check the contents. Throughout the book were various names, in varying languages and character sets.

"Do you know what this is?" a gentle-sounding, almost otherworldly voice asked, causing Felicity to quickly turn her head up from the book.

Stepping back, Felicity looked over the creature who seemed to appear instantaneously in front of her. While she knew it was a similar sort of creature to Ryuk, it was also somewhat distinct. It stood eight feet tall, despite its hunched posture. It was mostly white, with some kind of bizarre, jelly-filled, membranous equivalent to hair on its head.

"W-what are you? Are you..." Felicity began to say.

"Yes. I am a Shinigami." the creature stated in an almost monotonous tone, "My name is Rem. Ryuk told me about you..."

Felicity's eyes widened, "Ryuk... Ryuk helped me after all..."

"Helped you?" Rem looked like she was about to change posture, but quickly reverted, "Ryuk didn't tell me that he wanted to help you..."

"What... what did he say about me?" Felicity asked.

"He said that you were 'a friend worth having'." Rem replied, "Although, knowing him, he could have been lying to make me come down here. Anyway, this notebook is yours, now."

Felicity quickly ran inside, and smiled to herself, "Yes! With this notebook, I'll be able to continue living the good life... wait... Ryuk said I wouldn't be vulnerable, but Meeheil still has the notebook, doesn't he?"

"Who is this 'Meeheil'?" Rem mumbled, phasing through the house walls.

"Oh, the first owner of my old notebook. Ryuk should be with him now... I think." Felicity replied, "...I'm sure he's going to kill me. It's only a matter of time..."

Rem looked at Felicity for a moment, and said, "How is he not dead? You clearly know his name..."

"I didn't know how to spell it!" Felicity complained, "Ryuk began laughing after I wrote his name the fourth time, so I assumed he would die, but he stayed alive... I think I must have..."

Rem suddenly spoke up, and said, "Felicity, are you aware of the rule in the Death Note that states that a Death Note is rendered useless against a person who's name is misspelled in it four times?"

Felicity stopped, and thought for a moment, "...oh... it was in the front of the first Death Note... so, if Ryuk knew I had got it wrong, then why did he..."

Felicity stopped speaking, and looked down a little. Rem looked into the woman's eyes, and briefly contemplated what the defeated look within them meant. Finally, Felicity spoke up again.

"Ryuk was tricking me... he was tricking me this whole time..." Felicity's eyes began to fill with tears, "...I... I thought it was too good to be true... but... but..."

Rem knelt down, and somehow got herself down to Felicity's eye level, "Listen, Felicity Granger. I will not be like Ryuk. I will help you. I will protect you. And the first thing that I want you to do is continue to kill as you do. This will make the first user of the notebook doubtful of the notebook he carries, as killings out of his control will occur despite his acquiring of the notebook from you..."

"Just how much do you know about me?" Felicity asked, her voice unstable and barely audible.

"Ryuk told me some information when we were on our way to the Human World." Rem mumbled, "All I can hope is that Ryuk hasn't told this first user of the notebook about me. If he has... then you may be in grave danger. Why would Ryuk call me down here if you have so little left to live, I wonder..."

Felicity was still shaken by Ryuk's duplicitous behaviour, and wasn't recovering any time soon. Looking at Rem for a moment, she said, "Can I trust you?"

"I will not do anything unnecessary to trick you." Rem replied, attempting to sound neutral, "If I happen to find you to be the 'friend worth having' that Ryuk claimed you were, then that may change. Also, if you are mean-spirited in your treatment of me, do not think that I will not simply write your name in my personal notebook and leave this world..."

Felicity stared into the creature's eyes. They were a sickly yellow, with red pupils, similarly to Ryuk's, however, emanating from them was a certain... aura of peace. Felicity couldn't quite gauge whether this meant Rem was lying or telling the truth, but she certainly didn't feel this kind of aura from Ryuk.

After thinking over what to say, finally Felicity settled on perking up to say, "Well, if you want me to be a friend to you, then you're already nicer than Ryuk! Say, do you like apples, just like him?"

Rem stopped, and thought for a moment, "I haven't tried any human foods. I don't need to eat."

"Oh." Felicity muttered, "Well... would it hurt to try an apple?"

"I cannot feel pain." Rem stated, and continued, "If you bring me an 'apple', I shall try it. Is that okay?"

Felicity smiled, and said, "Stand up, Rem."

"...if you wish." Rem mumbled, and stood up, "But I don't know why you want..."

Rem's speech was interrupted by a sudden hug from the human, and, for whatever reason, she didn't protest. Instead, she was merely slightly perplexed by Felicity's actions. She seemed... erratic, uncontrolled. Did humans really change their moods so easily, or was she the exception?

Finally, Felicity let go, and said, "One moment, I'll get an apple..."

The woman left the room, and soon returned holding an approximately spherical, red fruit. Handing the Shinigami the fruit, Felicity said, "Go on! Eat it!"

Rem paused, and took the fruit from the woman's outstretched hand, and put the fruit to her mouth. Gingerly taking a bite, she chewed thoughtfully before saying, "It's sweet."

"Well... yeah, it is... but..." Felicity was slightly disappointed at Rem's reaction given Ryuk's almost lustful obsession with apples, "...oh, never mind."

Rem continued to eat the apple, "I haven't chewed a single thing for many of your human years..."

"Is that so..." Felicity mumbled, her mood being reset to subdued. Although Rem wasn't anywhere near as exciting as Ryuk, at least she had a way to ensure her survival. And from the looks of it, Rem was by far more reliable than the likes of Ryuk...

_Matt's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, around the same time_

Matt had been fortunate enough to not have any morning lectures this day, allowing him to sleep in, and despite the time being almost half nine, he was still fast asleep. He seemed... somewhat content. He had resolved the night before that considering he had been rumbled by Mello and Near, he would do what a supposedly respectable person would do... he'd work with them to catch Felicity...

Although, that said, it seemed that pretty soon, his period of grace would be over. Opening his eyes, he sighed to himself and walked out of his bed. Stretching, he had a shower and put on some clothes, before walking out of his room to get some breakfast from the kitchen.

However, mid-way through opening the kitchen door, something caused him to freeze in place. Ryuk was standing right next to a bag of apples, chewing at one of them with his trademark grin somehow still noticeable.

Matt looked around the kitchen to check no-one else was in, and then quickly whispered, "What are you doing here?"

Ryuk let out a small, interrupted cackle, "Well, I thought you'd like to know that Felicity Granger has lost her Death Note, so I'm returning to you, the Death Note owner."

Matt's eyes widened, "_WHAT?_"

"Oh yeah. I don't know where it's gone." Ryuk lied, "So, I guess anyone could have the thing now."

"No! Ryuk, you idiot!" Matt shouted, "Why didn't you keep track of it?"

Ryuk stopped, and silently pointed to the camera in the corner of the room, and began to laugh uncontrollably once again. Matt's hands clenched into a fist, "Well, I just thought I'd tell you, I give up! I don't care what you have to say, I'm not killing any more, not for you , not for this world, not for anyone! I'm gonna give myself up, and I'm gonna work with Mello, Near, and L, and make sure the Death Note never reaches a person again!"

Ryuk simply responded with another laugh, and pointed behind him. Matt turned pale, and turned around in horror. Truly enough, standing behind him was Halley, who was looking at Matt with equal horror.

"Matt... you... you..." Halley stepped back, "...you're... you're a Schizophrenic... a Schizophrenic and a killer..."

Matt began to panic, "...Halley! Please! Listen to me!"

"I'm calling the police!" Halley shouted, "You're a murderer!"

Matt almost considered covering her mouth, but then he realised that would make it worse. Calming down, he muttered, "Yes, Hal. I've killed people... but please... please let me tell you the whole story..."

"I'm still going to call the police, though..." Halley replied.

"I... I know. Please do. I can't do this any more..." Matt mumbled.

Halley ran back into her room, and during that time Matt ran into his room, and picked up four sheets of paper that he had hidden in plain sight on his cluttered desk. Making sure he got back to the kitchen before Halley, he sat on the chairs in there and began to breath deeply. Halley knew... hell, the whole flat knew now. Halley had shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

Curling up, Matt began to cry. He was hoping that he would have been able to give himself up secretly, disappear without hurting all of his friends. However, this was it. His life... if it wasn't over before, it was now. Halley returned to the kitchen with a mobile phone in her hand.

"I called the Police. They're coming over to take you in..." Halley mumbled, "...Matt... why? Who... who did you kill?"

Matt hung his head, his shame seeming to form a physical blockade from eye contact. Finally, he extended his hand, holding out many pieces of paper, "Hal... touch them. Touch them, and you'll begin to understand..."

Halley gingerly walked up to Matt, frightened of what he might do next, and finally touched the paper, instantly pulling away. She suddenly turned around in shock at hearing a third voice in the room say, "Well, it seems yet another human can see me."

Halley became a statue, albeit a quivering one, and she felt a chill run down her spine, "What... what are you?"

"A Shinigami." Ryuk stated, "Yes, Matthew is telling the truth. I am the reason he's killing. He was far too weak and stupid to kill... I just helped him along the way..."

This explanation didn't mean anything to the extremely-confused Halley, and she turned to Matt, "...what... what did... what is that thing? What did he do to you?"

"You're... not going to believe what I say." Matt spoke into his knees, still unable to look Halley in the eye.

"Matt... Matt... what is this thing?" Halley insisted.

"It's... a God of Death. He... appeared to me when I picked up a special Notebook. It's called a 'Death Note'..." Matt mumbled, waiting for Halley to reply. When she remained silent, he continued, "...with that, I was able to kill any human by writing down their name while thinking of their face..."

"And that's all it took for you to be a killer?" Halley shouted, tears in her eyes, "I... I thought you were normal! I thought you were a nice guy!"

"...you... you don't understand... Ryuk... that's the name of that thing..." Matt finally looked up, if only to glare at the Shinigami, "...he threatened me with death if I didn't use the Death Note... I... I was afraid... so I... so I..."

"You caused the deaths of who knows how much to keep your own life?" Halley screamed, sympathy clearly not in her voice, "What... why..."

"I only killed criminals! I figured if I had to kill people, I may as well kill people no-one would miss... people who weren't worthy of society anyway..." Matt replied, looking at Halley with tears streaming down his face.

"Criminals are people, too! Criminals can be reformed! That's what I'm studying! Criminals can be understood, their problems can be addressed, and they can be reformed!" Halley refuted Matt's argument.

"I didn't want to kill them, it's just..." Matt began to hiccough, "...it's just... if I had to kill someone... I'd... I'd... I'd kill them..."

Ryuk cleared his throat, and said, "Matt. You're forgetting that you killed Anders Breivick without so much as an afterthought, before I even got here. You have none of your so-called human 'principles'."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Matt screamed at Ryuk, and stood up, walking towards Ryuk with the intent of punching him, however Ryuk simply let Matt phase right through him.

"Well, Matt. It looks like you lost." Ryuk stated, "I have no use for you. If I let you live, I admit, it'd be fun to see you working with Mello, Near, and L. But I have no interest in someone who knows so much about the Death Note getting with the current user's opposition. It'd be too easy. So, I'm going to say goodbye to you here..."

Ryuk took a book from a holster on his hip, and took out a strange, twisted-looking pen from the other side of the holster.

"W-w-w-what are you doing?" Halley stammered.

Matt stood up, and hung his head, "Halley. I... I won't tell you everything about the Death Note... because Ryuk will kill you. But... but I want you to do something for me... tell Mello... that you know his name is Mihael Keehl..."

Halley stood up, "Matt! You're speaking like you're..."

"I _am _about to die. I'm so sorry..." Matt replied, and turned around to look Ryuk in the eye, "Well, you vicious bastard, I hope you're happy. There you are. I've added an interesting variation to your sick game. Now, take me from it! I know that I'm too vital to live any more. So, go on. Kill me! Kill me now! Do it, you piece of..."

Matt's speech stopped instantaneously as he collapsed to the floor. Ryuk looked over the human, and for a moment, seemed to be slightly regretful. However, he soon looked away from the body, and said, "Mmm. He had around sixty-five human years left in his life, too..."

Halley stepped back in horror, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Looking at Matt's corpse in disbelief, she knelt on the floor and shouted, "Matt! Matt! Matt! No! You can't... you need to tell the police everything you know! Matt! Don't..."

"He has been dead for fifty... fifty-one... fifty-two... fifty three seconds." Ryuk plainly said.

"You... you bastard! You... he was such a... he was so kind! You... you ruined his life! Didn't you?" Halley screamed, her voice beginning to rasp, "Matt... Matt... this... I can't believe it..."

Ryuk chuckled, "Well, be sure to approach that Mello fellow like Matt said. I mean, it was his dying wish. You're too interesting to kill just yet, but... if you go as far out of line as Matt did, then you will share his fate. I just want to see a fun game play out... now, I have other places to be..."

Halley stared at Ryuk in silence as the Shinigami phased through the wall and away from her sight. There was no denying it... the corpse she was kneeling next to was proof that that thing was real. Her phone began to buzz, and she answered it, the voice on the other end saying, "This is the police. We've arrived outside the Ffriddoedd Site. Is the self-proclaimed murderer still willing to turn himself in?"

"...he's... he's..." Halley began to become emotional, and stammered for a while before she stopped and decided to think of an answer.

There was no way the police would believe her if she said that a ghostly creature who only people who touched a weird set of pages could see killed him... although those four pages would be useful. She decided to simply say it as most people would have seen it.

"...he's... collapsed... he's not breathing, and I think he's... I think he's... he's..." Halley couldn't quite bring herself to say that he was dead, despite the fact she had just begun to think rationally again.

"...is the self-proclaimed murderer dead?" the policeman asked.

"...yes." Halley quietly said.

"Can you let us into your building?" the man's voice asked.

"...yes." Halley mumbled.

This was it... the flat would be shaken by this revelation... and although all of the flat would soon know Matt was dead, only Halley would know the truth. Picking up the four pages in Matt's left hand, Halley knew that at the very least, she could try and get to the bottom of what all this meant...

...so... Mello. She would have to make sure she was sitting with him next lecture. Continuing to kneel by the corpse, Halley stared at the back of Matt's head, afraid to know what his final facial expression was.

After deciding to walk down and let the police in, she soon found out what his final facial expression was once the forensics team turned over the body for examination. It was a wry, if a little defeated-looking... smile.

Author's Notes: I had planned for this chapter to be a wham chapter, but I didn't quite know what to do, hence why it took so long to finally get writing this chapter...

Idea management is paramount, and it's always best to do it _before_ you type it up.


	15. 15: Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 15- Meanwhile, back at the ranch...**

_Mello's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, seven o'clock ante-meridian, just about preceding the events of last chapter_

Mello's room was a cluttered, disorganised mess. Unlike Near's room, which was only cluttered with toys and the likes, Mello's room was a typical student's hovel- his bin was overflowing with chocolate bar wrappers, his desk covered in various books, papers, and of course, his laptop.

The most recent addition to the cluttered desk was a certain black, leather-lined notebook, and the very thing that was denying him of sleep. Mello had been lying awake the entire night, his eyes wide open the whole time. At any moment, he was expecting the horrific spectre that had claimed to have 'saved him' to appear and torment him, however, he hadn't seen the phantasmal hide nor hair of the beast.

Near had made sure that yesterday, he got to touch the notebook, but nothing more, and that he, L, and Mello would discuss the nature of it in detail when Matt's location was known to be well away from their room... in other words, when he was 'dating' Miss Felicity Granger.

Forcing himself out of his bed, Mello picked up his mobile phone, and sluggishly worked his way to calling Near.

The phone instantly relayed Near's voice, "Hello, Mello. What is it?"

"Near... have you seen that monster yet?" Mello asked.

"No, I have not." Near mused, "I am beginning to think that whatever that thing is, it's not particularly loyal to Matthew Dave. I talked to Matthew yesterday, and he was not being followed by anything like your description of the monster."

Mello grunted, "Look, I'm not lying about this. I know I saw something. It's gotta be to do with this Death Note thing..."

"I do not doubt you." Near stated, "In fact, I was thinking that you should come into my room. Are you properly awake?"

If he were to answer honestly, the answer would have been 'no', but Mello begrudgingly said, "Yeah. I'll just be a moment..."

Mello picked up the Death Note, put on his clothes in a slow, awkwardly rushed fashion, silently cursing his penchant for tight clothing, and staggered out of his room, barely able to stand. Walking to the next door along and knocking on said door, he was soon greeted by Near in person.

"Hello again. Please, come in." Near mumbled, his voice a little more subdued than usual.

Mello walked into Near's room as requested, and somewhat irritatedly said, "So, what's the problem?"

"Well, Mello. I was thinking that we could watch some footage together to confirm the existence of this so-called 'Shinigami' you are so afraid of..." Near answered.

Mello stopped, and then said, "Oh, you mean footage of Matt's room and flat?"

"Exactly." Near mused, "In particular, one I mentioned to Matthew last night..."

"You mentioned what we know to Matt? Did you tell him that we have this thing?" Mello asked frantically.

"Of course not. Unlike you, I do not act impulsively, and, for that matter, I don't act alone." Near replied, "L requested that I do it. I told him that we practically know he's the killer thanks to us reviewing footage of his room with your vision. So, let's make this more than a bluff."

Mello nodded, and Near proceeded to access the many video files that had been taken from the cameras in Matt's flat via his computer. Near clicked on a file who's name was a string of numbers too large for a regular mind to memorise.

The video began to play, and footage of Matt slamming his room door and shouting was seen. Near observed the video as if he had seen it before, but suddenly, his eyes slightly twitched, "Hold on... there's... a creature in black standing in front of him... I did not see this before touching that... 'Death Note'..."

Mello looked at where Near was looking, and smirked, "See, I told you! Right there, clear as day!"

Near looked at Mello, his eyes falling back to their usual unimpressed position, "So, tell me, how was it that Matthew had managed to allow you to see this creature without revealing the presence of this notebook..."

Mello opened the Death Note in his hands, and slowly read through the rules. None in particular stood out as enabling the user to bestow sight of a Shinigami remotely. He flicked through the pages and finally said, "Ah! Near, look at this..."

Near closed the video, and looked at what Mello had to show him, "What is it?"

Mello had the Death Note open at a point where evidence of the pages being ripped was clearly there, "Look... Matt must have ripped some pages out... if touching them was enough to give me the ability to see the Shinigami, then..."

Mello suddenly came to an epiphany, "When I first searched his room... he had left a piece of paper just sitting on his desk. It looked like it had been ripped out of a notebook... and he used my ability to see the Shinigami to... why would he do that, actually..."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to ask him..." Near replied, "Once we confront him with this evidence, we'll have enough to arrest him. And if he doesn't co-operate... well, I'm sure we can figure out on our own what he was trying. Not that it will matter. Once Matthew is arrested, as well as Felicity Granger, the woman you stole this from, we will have solved the case... but first, we need a less ambiguous tape that shows the Shinigami. Here's the second video feed I think is significant. It involved a floating piece of paper..."

Mello nodded, and the two began to watch the second clip Near had opened. The location of the Shinigami was much easier to see this time around, and quite clearly showed both Matt and the Shinigami passing notes to each other.

"This is all the proof we need. As long as we keep this notebook in our possession, we can use it to enable all relevant authorities to see the Shinigami and thus accept our evidence. I'm pretty sure we can prove that Matthew was one of the people who wrote in this, along with Felicity Granger..." Near continued to mumble, as if this was merely another piece of evidence, not a breakthrough.

"We need to get this notebook to L as soon as possible!" Mello said.

"That's true. But we also need to make sure neither Matthew nor this... Shinigami of his find it." Near mused, "For now, I feel that keeping track of Matthew should be a priority. Let's see the live feed of the cameras in Matthew's flat..."

Opening the feed which showed the interior of Matt's room, Near sighed as all that he could see was the sleeping figure of Matt curled up in his bed. He quickly switched the camera feed to the one in the kitchen, which in turn caused both Near and Mello to jump back slightly.

Sitting on one of the worktops was the Shinigami Mello had been seeing all this time, now clear as day to both Near and Mello. He seemed to be simply chewing on an apple contentedly.

"The... the Shinigami's here to report to Matthew..." Near mumbled.

"Huh? But he's clearly shown that he's able to go into his room and discuss things privately with Matt if he wanted to..." Mello pointed out, "So... why isn't he?"

"Perhaps he's a polite monster." Near smirked a little at his attempt at a joke, "Perhaps he'd feel bad if he woke sleeping beauty."

The two continued to observe the Shinigami, an hour passing and not so much as a change occurring, beyond the amount of apples Ryuk had significantly decreasing over time. Both knew that they couldn't lose sight of the thing now that they knew where it was, and it seemed that the creature was unaware of the camera.

Finally, something changed, and Matt walked into the kitchen, a shocked expression on his face.

"Huh? Matt... doesn't look like he's expecting him..." Mello mused, "What's going on?"

"Perhaps he's acting for the camera." Near replied, "After all, I did inform him of the possibility of using you as a reviewing method for any camera footage we have."

However, the audio of the event seemed to be concurrent with Mello's theory, and the conversation between the two soon changed from hushed whispers to loud shouts as the Shinigami informed Matt that Felicity had 'lost' the Death Note.

"Wait..." Mello said, "She didn't lose it... he out and out gave it to me. He let me go with it... so why is he lying to Matt?"

"Hmm." Near stared at the footage intensely, "This makes no sense. Perhaps the earlier theory that the Shinigami has an agenda of his own is..."

Suddenly Near fell silent as the Shinigami pointed one of its large, razor-sharp fingers towards the camera, as if he was pointing straight at the two.

"He... he knows about us..." Mello said, his voice full of fear, "He knows where we are... so why hasn't he visited us?"

The sound of Matt's voice shouted over Mello's out-loud thoughts, however, and his rant revealed everything... that he gave up, that he was killing, and that he intended to help them. He also implied that he was killing _for _the Shinigami in his speech...

"Near! He just said he's been killing _for _the Shinigami! What do we do?" Mello asked, beginning to panic, "That thing can go through walls, it's only visible to those who have touched that Death Note thing, and it's threatened to kill me before, and as far as we're aware, it can do it! What can we do to stop it?"

Near's eyes seemed to shine a little, "Please remain calm. This could still be an act..."

Mello growled, "Near! This is serious! A dangerous creature we don't understand is inciting mass murder and we have no way of stopping it!"

At this point, another person walked into the camera's view, and clearly had heard everything Matt had just said. Mello's eyes widened, "Halley... Halley Motterspool..."

"...now we have an external witness to his confession." Near mumbled, "This is excellent..."

Mello was still thinking with his heart, however, and his hands curled into fists, "Near! At this rate, she could end up dead, too! We need to go up there and stop this, now!"

"If we do that, we will not be able to observe what it is Matthew is doing, and we would reveal our nature to Miss Motterspool." Near calmly stated.

By the time the two had stopped arguing, Matt was curled in an upright version of the foetal position on a chair, while Halley was looking down at him in disapproval. Matt revealed a set of pages, and Halley touched them, causing her to react with appropriate horror to the Shinigami standing over her.

"That proves it. Touching the ripped pages of this thing lets people see Shinigami..." Near mumbled, "This footage... I am glad I have seen this live. This shall be useful to the case."

Mello was silently steaming over the situation, and simply glared at Near, seemingly trying to use this to communicate his hatred for his cold, unfeeling desire to sit back and do nothing.

The two watched as Matt explained to Halley the entire situation, and piece by piece, the puzzle came together. Matt poured his heart out, explaining that he was threatened with death, that he wanted to make sure that if he did kill, he'd at least kill 'undesirables'.

"Pathetic..." Near mused, "Matthew has no backbone..."

Mello kept his mouth shut, his mental state in disarray, every word of Matt's hitting him like a brick. Finally, the Shinigami let loose some information that proved useful.

The croaky voice spoke through Near's laptop, "Matt. You're forgetting that you killed Anders Breivick without so much as an afterthought, before I even got here. You have none of your so-called human 'principles'."

"He... he was the reason Anders Breivick died..." Near said, his voice slightly enthusiastic with the new information he had received, "...even L didn't figure that much out..."

"That happened way before the deaths became regular and noticeable..." Mello mused, "He must have been a..." Mello paused, his stomach too sick to finish the sentence, "...test..."

At this point, Matt had screamed loud enough that his real voice could be heard above Near's room, and similarly, the thud made when he hit the floor was also heard. Matt's defiance surprised both of them, and inspired Mello to resume his tirade against Near, "We have to stop this now!"

"What can we do?" Near pointed out.

This argument quickly silenced Mello once again, and they continued to watch. Suddenly, Matt got up and told Halley to tell Mello that she knew his name was 'Mihael Keehl', and his tone of voice had clearly become more even.

Mello began to twitch, "Near, Matt's going to..."

"We cannot go up there if he is going to die... we'd just meet the same fate..." Near mumbled.

Shortly after Near finished his sentence, just that event happened. Another, more sickening thud was heard vibrating through Near's ceiling. Mello stared at the video feed, his eyes unblinking.

Near's eyes half-closed, and even he was dumbfounded. Near stood up, and finally said, "L did say this was a possibility. And it happened to be the worst possible one. We're dealing with an unpredictable, unstoppable force that will dispose of its pawns one after the other... it was convenient of Matthew to expose a lot of his knowledge before he died, however..."

Mello finally blew his top, "SHUT UP, NEAR! Thanks to your emotionless crap, Matt's dead, and we've lost our only lead who'd be willing to work for us!"

Near turned his head in an almost robotic manner, "We both know that isn't why you're upset. Mello, you knew this day was coming."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Mello shouted, "Near, we could have stopped that, but we didn't. Now we have the Death Note, and that thing's going to come after us next... what's going to happen now?"

Near looked down, "We must destroy the notebook as soon as it is used to implicate Felicity Granger. Once we have her arrested, the case will be all but over, and as long as the Shinigami..."

"The Shinigami isn't going to play by the rules, Near! Open your eyes! It can just kill us like that! You saw the footage! It has one of these things itself!" Mello shouted.

"Then explain this... why hasn't the Shinigami just caused a set of deaths itself? Why did it allow a human like Matt to acquire one and force him to use it?" Near pointed out, "The creature mentioned to Halley that she's 'too interesting' to kill... I propose that this is an elaborate game to him, and he will behave unpredictably, but will not kill randomly. I can assume that as long as we're... entertaining to him, he won't kill us."

"That's one hell of an assumption." Mello pointed out, "So, when we arrest Felicity... his fun's over, right? We're just gonna die then..."

"If we die to end this incident, then we die to end this incident." Near blankly stated, his body posture noticeably slumped.

The room was silent for a moment, and Mello mumbled, "So... what do we do about Felicity's date with Matt?"

"You will have to tell her the truth." Near mused, "And I guess... as long as L's willing to let us... I guess we can use this as an opportunity to lure her into a trap..."

Mello sighed, and began to think about the situation, "I... I can't believe that... that he's dead..."

"You do believe he is dead." Near mused, "And he was never your friend. He was plotting to kill you, as he was I. Don't forget that."

Mello hung his head, "You're... right. God damn it, Near, I wish you didn't always think with your head..."

Near turned from Mello, and mumbled, "Well, I think it's obvious that we should go upstairs and speak with Halley Motterspool as soon as possible."

"Yeah." Mello muttered, barely able to let the syllable leave his mouth.

The two left their flat, and walked upstairs, and knocked on the flat door. After a wait, a pale-faced, clearly traumatised rendition of Halley Motterspool opened the door, and stammered, "M-m-mike? Don't... don't come in here... Matt's... Matt's..."

Mello was almost unable to maintain his act of not knowing what had happened, so Near took over and said, "We heard something terrible, screaming and a person falling over. What's going on?"

A disembodied voice clearly belonging to an older man said, "Miss, can you please come back now, we still need to ask you a few more questions."

Halley left the two instantly, and neglected shutting the door, allowing Near and Mello to walk into what was now a forensic analysis area. Gathered around Matt's corpse were his flatmates, all too shocked to fully look at it but too frightened to look away.

Mello was finding it difficult not to tear up, "He's... he's..."

Near eyed Mello with suspicion. This emotion wasn't an act, but it certainly did help. Near attempted to seem emotional about the whole affair, and mumbled, "...how... how did he die?"

A policeman standing next to a lean man in a white coat said, "That's what forensics are trying to figure out. There seemed to be no signs of external trauma, and the witness says he just collapsed randomly..."

Mello looked at Halley, before remembering as far as they knew, he didn't know who 'the witness' referred to, and so he asked, "Who saw it?"

Halley slowly walked up to Mello, "...I... I saw it..."

Mello looked into Halley's eyes. They were filled with tears, and she was quivering with both fear and sadness. Mello knew it was probably not the right thing to do, but he opened his arms, and hugged the girl.

"I'm so sorry..." Mello mused, making a public 'obligatory apology', but expressing a genuine apology behind it.

Halley suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper, "...Mike... or... as he... as he... as he called you... Mello... Matt said something before he died..."

"What did he say?" Mello asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"He told me to tell you... that I know your real name is Mihael Keehl..." Halley mumbled, "...I... I don't know what it means, but... but... Mello, Matt... he was hiding things from us... terrible things... and... well... you two were so close... I don't want you to..."

Mello let go of Halley, "Come on. Let's leave the room. I have something to tell you..."

Halley looked at Mello, her face denoting confusion, "What is it?"

"You'll see, Hal... you'll see..." Mello mused, "Nathan, can you tell the police what I'm doing?"

Near nodded, and said, "Of course..."

Mello soon took Halley out of her flat's kitchen, and the head police officer at the scene called out, "Stop! She's a valuable witness!"

Near quickly blocked the Policeman's way, and quietly said, "Trust me, you'll be able to question her. However, we have a few questions for her also..." Near stopped talking, silently pulling out a card with a Cloister Black letter L emblazoned on the front, and continued, "Take a photograph of this card and show it to your higher-ups. One of them may recognise it."

The policeman stopped, and simply took the exceptionally calm child's word for it, and rolled his eyes, "These damn agents, they get younger and younger..."

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded much recently. Life and other creative endeavours have got in the way. I'm sorry.


	16. 16: A Deal with Death

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 16- A Deal with Death**

_Mello's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, ten thirty ante-meridian_

Mello had walked the distraught, frightened mess of a human being that was once known as Halley Motterspool to his room, and had just let her sit down to explain the situation to her fully.

"...Mike... do you... do you know about... about the thing that Matt could see?" Halley quickly asked Mello as soon as his door was shut, her mind clearly too agitated to rest for a single moment.

"You may not believe what I have to say... but this is the truth." Mello began, surprised he was able to form a sentence without a false start so easily, "Nathan and I... we're not students... we're actually detectives, working for..."

"So... so he could hold off the police, because..." Halley began to say, but she was cut off by a more impatient than usual Mello.

"...please can you let me continue?" Mello exasperatedly asked, "Look, Matt was... Matt was... the person we were investigating. A host of strange criminal deaths had been occurring recently, and our mentor was called onto the case... he goes by an alias of 'Ryuzaki', and no-one is sure of his true identity. It turns out... it turns out that Matt was the one we were after..."

Halley looked down, "...I... see. So, it's over, then? This case... so... what's the point in you telling me this? Why did Matt want to tell me about who you are? Was he just trying to expose you before his death?"

"...Halley, you know that monster? The one that told you he had been pressuring him into killing people..." Mello asked.

"...yes... what is it? Mike, answer me! What the hell is going on?" Halley began to panic, "That... that thing wasn't human, it... it..."

Mello sighed, "Look, Halley, that monster is the main problem here. We're not sure what it is, but this book belongs to it." Mello opened one of his drawers, and lifted the bottom of it to reveal a small, black notebook underneath it.

Taking the notebook out, he handed it to Halley. The woman scanned the cover, and she proceeded to open the book and check the inner cover. Looking over the set of rules, she shuddered.

"It... it seems too horrible to be real..." Halley mumbled.

"The writing in the book matches the names and causes of deaths of the criminals that have died under strange circumstances recently..." Mello stated, for a moment reminding himself of Near, "...Matt most likely wrote this. However... there is a second person who used it."

Halley's eyes widened, "Huh? Another person?"

"...her name is Felicity Granger. The case will be closed soon enough. In fact, I am only telling you all this because... you have witnessed too much. If we don't keep you with us, then you could use your information in a way that could jeopardise our operation..." Mello said, somewhat coldly, "...look, we could use you, however, we'll need you to go back upstairs..."

"Huh? Back to where Matt's..." Halley began to say, before emotions stopped her from getting any further.

"Nathan will be up there. I'll make sure he gives you Matt's phone. Knowing him, he's probably already confiscated it from the police..." Mello said, "...now, he should have expected a call from Felicity at some point..."

"The two were working together on this..." Halley began to say, but Mello cut her off once again.

"HE WASN'T! HE WAS HELPING US CATCH HER!" Mello shouted, rendering Halley silent. Mello breathed heavily, getting a grip on himself again, before he muttered, "Look, he was criminal scum, but he was good enough scum to help us when things got out of his control..."

Halley turned away from Mello for a moment in thought. She thought to Matt's crying face, the anguish on his face... he was tired. He... he was smiling when he died... he had had enough. He was trying to atone, and got killed in the process. And... it seemed that Mello considered Matt a friend based on this flimsy attempt at atonement.

"Look, Matt was my flatmate, I can see that you may have begun to like him..." Halley sighed, "I still can't quite believe he was a mass-murderer myself..."

"I...believed it, yet..." Mello looked down, before looking back up with a certain rage about his face, "...I don't have time for this. This is what I want you to do. When Felicity calls you, you must act in a frightened manner, and tell her that Matt died of a heart attack, and nothing more..."

"I... understand." Halley mused, "Then what?"

"Well, I have a plan. I'll discuss it with Nathan and Ryuzaki later, but any plan we'll do will most likely involve informing Felicity of Matt's death. For now, however, you won't be included in those meetings." Mello explained, "Does that seem fair?"

"...of course..." Halley concluded, and nodded her head, "...I... I guess that I'd best go."

Mello nodded back, and Halley handed Mello the Death Note, before she left the room, walking in a slow, demotivated fashion back to her flat, where Matt's corpse had since been removed, and the policemen from earlier were currently waiting in the kitchen, discussing matters with Near.

Near seemed to not care much about their conversation, however, as moments later, he stopped the conversation to take his mobile phone out of his pocket, and say, "Yes, Michael. Understood. Right. Right."

Hanging up, he smiled as he caught sight of Halley. The woman knew who he had just hung up on, and instantly asked, "So, can I have it?"

Near folded his arms, and looked up to the relatively tall woman, "...Mello is being hasty involving you like this, but given what you've witnessed, I guess his strategy isn't inherently flawed. Have this..."

Near took out another mobile phone, one considerably more flashy than the brick-fashioned one he was using for himself. He then calmly continued, "...of course, you must be convincing... but given that all you are doing is restricting the full truth rather than lying, it should be easy. Remember not to reveal that you know of a certain... monster's existence. She is powerless at the moment, but she may choose to make you her next target if you know too much..."

"Wow, you cut right to the chase..." Halley remarked, a tad of sarcasm in her voice despite the situation, "So... I just tell this 'Felicity' woman Matt's dead?"

"Yes." Near mumbled, "Now, I have things to discuss with Mello... and remember, this business is confidential..."

Halley opened her mouth to address his blunt, impolite manner of dealing with her, however, he had disappeared in an almost ghostly fashion, as if he was dead himself.

Walking towards the police, Halley said, "So, you need me for questioning?"

"Well, yes, if you don't mind..." the policeman responded, and got out a notebook in preparation, "It's okay, we can do it here, if that's what you'd prefer..."

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, shortly after the former events_

Felicity Granger was currently doing what her 'lady of leisure' lifestyle now allowed her to do regularly- shirk work in favour of watching television. However, she wasn't being completely idle. Despite Rem asserting that Ryuk's forcing of her to kill criminals was not mandatory in her eyes, Felicity was continuing to write names of criminals down with reckless abandon.

"What are you doing, Felicity?" Rem calmly asked.

"I am simply carrying on as normal. The guy I dated yesterday was the first owner of my old notebook, and he's stole it back." Felicity replied, "However, now that I've got a new one, I'll confuse anyone who finds out about the deaths! Pretty smart, huh?"

Rem sighed, "But you'll simply attract attention to yourself if you are not careful..."

Felicity shook her head, "Can you not bother me? I just want to make a little money before I go on this date tonight..."

"Is that so..." Rem muttered, "...how about you kill people who are not famous or on the television?"

Felicity looked to Rem, and shook her head, "No, I couldn't do that... I mean, I only really know the names of my friends and... I couldn't kill them."

Rem seemed to give the human a puzzled look, not quite understanding her twisted moral code. However, she knew what the answer to the dilemma was.

"Felicity. Unlike your first Death Note, you officially own this one." Rem stated, "I have an offer for you. Did Ryuk ever mention... the Shinigami Eye Deal? I suppose he wouldn't have, given your position..."

"Actually, he did tell me about Shinigami's eyes..." Felicity mused, "...it's how he knew my name by simply looking at me... so, what's the deal, exactly?"

"The Shinigami Eye Deal is this: give me half of your remaining life span, and I shall give you the eyes of a Shinigami." Rem stated evenly, her voice barely shifting a tone.

"So... so I could just... see everyone's names, just by looking at their face?" Felicity asked, "...and then I can use their names in the Death Note? No other catch but my lifespan?"

"I am not allowed to tell you how much lifespan you have remaining, but the cost may be great. The choice is yours..." Rem quietly said, "...you don't have to take this, however, it may be safer for you to do this..."

Felicity smirked to herself. This could mean more than just riches... with the power of the eyes, she'd be able to manipulate any person to do whatever they want for herself before they die...

Felicity looked away from Rem, and contemplated a little to herself before she turned around to say her final answer...

_Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, about an hour after the former events_

Near walked into his room and sat down at his desk, with Mello following him in moments later. Sitting on the bed, Mello felt slightly uncomfortable knowing that Matt had once been sitting on this bed also.

"So, what's this... plan you have, Mello?" Near asked, "Was it the obvious plan?"

"That being?" Mello asked.

"Making Halley Motterspool tell Felicity Granger that Matthew Dave is dead by a heart attack, and then you call her yourself if she doesn't call you herself, and offer to go over and give your condolences, at which point, you have her apprehended..." Near hastily stated in an undertone, "...the plan is foolish and predictable to me... but it will fool Felicity."

"So, should we discuss this with L?" Mello asked.

"Actually, yes. I haven't contacted him today..." Near mumbled, "...okay, let's begin..."

Booting up the computer, Near almost instinctively went to 'Skype', and video-called 'Ryuzaki', who answered the call straight away, as if he had been awaiting them.

"Greetings." L mumbled, "I have received information that Matthew Dave is dead... how is this? I thought Mello had retrieved the weapon that Miss Granger was using yesterday..."

"I have." Mello replied, "The person who caused Matt's death was the monster that I've been seeing..."

Near nodded, "Mello is correct. After touching the notebook Mello stole from Felicity, I was able to see this monster in the camera we had placed around Matthew's flat. He was almost certainly the cause of his death... I will send you the video files..."

"I see..." L mused, "...the reason I am doubting Mello's retrieval of the weapon is not only this, however..."

Mello's eyes widened, "What? What are you talking about?"

"A large amount of criminals who have had their names recently announced on television suddenly banded together, robbed a bank, and have driven away..." L's voice mumbled, "...and I think they will soon die... the criminals were a rapist, a wanted serial killer, a corrupt corporate executive, and a petty thief... their crimes have nothing in common, the only linking factor is their name being broadcast on television... this thoughtless killing pattern is very similar to Felicity's style..."

"But... but I stole it from her..." Mello began to panic, "...I... I have it in my room!"

"Please may I see it?" L asked.

Mello grunted, clearly frustrated at L's scepticism. He rushed out of Near's room, and quickly got the Death Note, before coming back into the room with it in his hands.

"L! This is it!" Mello waved the book in front of Near's laptop's web-cam, "I have it! See! It has all the names of the criminals that died under the strange circumstances and heart attacks that you expected to be in there!"

L stayed silent at Mello's loud behaviour, staring out of Near's computer as if trying to find meaning in his furious face. Finally, he said, "Does it have the names 'Andrew Luster', 'Beverly Allitt', 'Joe Nacchio', and 'Frederick Matthews' in it?"

Mello growled, thinking L was trying to test him. He flipped through the pages erratically, trying to prove L wrong and himself right. However, he couldn't find a single name that resembled those.

"Huh? Who are those people?" Mello asked.

"The people who were just used to perform the bank robbery. Mello, you're telling the truth." L stated.

Near, who had been silently observing L's somewhat brilliant method of dealing with the less-than-cooperative Mello with amazement, finally spoke up, "What do you mean? What are you implying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" L replied back, "Just think. You're my top student, Near, I wouldn't have trained you if you weren't able to deduce this for yourself..."

Near stopped and thought for a short while, the wheels in his head turning. However, it was Mello who beat Near to the punch.

"The Notebook! There's two notebooks!" Mello said, smiling as he glanced at the rather disappointed-looking Near, "That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes..." L mused, "However, this presents a problem. We cannot simply arrest Felicity without good cause. If someone totally unrelated to Matthew and Felicity has the notebook, then the apprehension of Felicity will do nothing, and killings will continue despite her apprehension, which will make me have to deal with the human rights commissions, not to mention looking like an idiot to the government... however, I have a feeling Miss Granger has somehow acquired a second notebook. This activity seems very... like her. We need to formulate a plan that will enable us to ascertain whether or not she has the notebook. And if she does... we apprehend her. Simple enough."

"But what if she doesn't?" Near asked.

"We can plan that much out later." L mused, "...something tells me you were going to contact Felicity regarding Matthew Dave's death anyway. That should be a convenient enough opportunity. Still, the possibility of multiple notebooks... worries me... it worries me greatly..."

_Halley's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, three o'clock post-meridian_

Halley had tried her best to continue with her life, and was currently typing up an essay on why humans _didn't _commit crime. However, her concentration was every no and then interrupted by a glimpse to a certain mobile phone that lay on her desk. She awaited a phone call, but the very device itself was enough to make her uneasy.

Underneath the phone was a set of sheets of paper... these were items of Matt's that apparently neither 'Michael' nor 'Nathan' were aware she had... the very things Matt had used to make that... thing visible to her.

It was strange, she had expected to see it again, however, it hadn't so much as appeared in her vicinity. She decided to stop looking at the phone and get back to her essay, and it was at about this time the phone actually began to go off.

The Caller ID was labelled 'Felicity', and Halley instantly picked up the phone, answering it. She was about to say 'Hello', however, the voice at the other end beat her to it.

"Hello, Mattie, dear! I was just calling to say that I'm looking forward to tonight's big date! Oh, I know a brilliant Indian restaurant we can go to, and it's going to be fantastic..." Felicity began to say, trailing off somewhat awkwardly, "...anyone there?"

"Um... this isn't Matt..." Halley quietly said, not quite knowing how best to handle the situation.

"Who... who is it, then?" Felicity asked, "Hmm, you seem like a young woman... you're not his girlfriend, are you? He hasn't been messing me around, has he..."

"No... I'm... his flatmate..." Halley mumbled, "...I... I have something important to say..."

"What's wrong? You're sounding like someone's died..." Felicity said enthusiastically, "...why do you have his phone, anyway?"

"...well... Matt... Matt's dead." Halley finally got the news out of her system, "He died of a heart attack this morning... no-one knows what happened, but it was right out of nowhere... it's... it's really troubling... I'm sorry I had to tell you this..."

"Wait... did you say a heart attack?" Felicity asked, "A heart attack? Are they absolutely sure about that?"

"That's what the forensics team think..." Halley muttered, "Look, this is upsetting to me, is it okay if we stop talking?"

"Oh, of course... it's a shame, he seemed like such a nice young man, too..." Felicity mused to herself, despite being on the phone, "Okay, I'll leave you in peace. Goodbye..."

"...goodbye..." Halley finished the conversation, and hung up. After that, she breathed a massive sigh of relief, and decided to try her hardest to finish the essay that was due by the end of the week.

However, fate continued to conspire against her, and soon, a certain grating, raspy voice began emanating from behind her.

"Hello, Halley... Motterspool..." Ryuk calmly greeted, talking to Halley the same way a human talks to a ham sandwich.

Halley turned around, and instantly threw herself as far back into her chair as possible, stammering, "It's... it's... y-y-you..."

"Yes. It's me." Ryuk replied dryly, "So, I see that you kept a few pieces of the Death Note for yourself... mind explaining that to me?"

"I... I just did..." Halley suddenly seemed to adopt a familiar tone to the slightly amused Ryuk, "I... I didn't think anything of it. I just took them. Why, what of it?"

Ryuk chuckled, "Humans naturally like to keep the Death Note. It's in their nature. Such power... such curiosity... you saw where the full note was today, didn't you? I can see it in your eyes... you know what it is capable of..."

"You... you're not making any sense!" Halley shouted, somewhat surprised by how contrary she was being to such an imposing creature.

"Well... Halley Motterspool, as you know, I am a Shinigami. A Death God..." Ryuk let out a dry laugh, "...Matt was _such _a coward, wasn't he? He... he killed so many people... just to save himself. Utterly pathetic, right?"

"Yes!" Halley shouted, "And I know what you want! You want me to write down a name on those sheets, or else you'll kill me, right? You want me to replace Matt... don't you? Well, I refuse... I... I'd rather die than kill many others!"

Ryuk suddenly stopped, and stared at Halley like a magpie surveying an area for corpses. After a brief moment of him simply standing over the confused human, looking into her eyes, he finally burst into a caustic, raucous amount of laughter.

"Oh... I'm not going to threaten your life..." Ryuk muttered, "No... I know exactly where my Death Note is, and I'm going to take it for myself. It has no human owner, after all, and no-one's willing to use it and make it their own, so I guess I'll have to return to the Shinigami realm... who knows, I might throw it into the yard of a high-security prison so a serial killer can get his hands on it next time..."

Halley's skin became pale, "No... no... don't... you... you wouldn't..."

"Oh, but there is one way to keep me on Earth..." Ryuk cackled at this thought, clearly getting some kind of twisted amusement from this, "...oh, if only there was a hero that was brave enough to avert this somehow..."

Halley knew what he meant... he was trying to make her write down a name... however, he probably was very much willing to cause several random deaths of innocents simply to spite her... and that didn't settle with her conscience... what choice did she have... at least if there was going to be a killing, she'd be the one in control...

Halley gulped... this was what Matt must have felt like... she could feel it... the powerlessness to choose... squirming, Halley decided to open up an internet browser and search for a recently convicted serial killer in the US.

"Fine. I'll just kill someone who's getting executed anyway..." Halley quietly said, "...you're... a monster..."

Ryuk simply laughed off Halley's meaningless words, and waited for Halley to grab a pen, and very slowly, she wrote the name 'Charles Albright'...

Author's Note: I am sincerely sorry from the bottom of my heart for rejecting this fic as much as I have... honestly, I'm really terrible. I've just had massive writer's block with regards to this story, with many different ideas bouncing off of each other and conflicting and what have you...

...hopefully the result of my thoughts hasn't come to disappoint.


	17. 17: The World through New Eyes

Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition

**Chapter 17- The World through New Eyes**

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, during the final events of the former chapter_

Felicity Granger hung up on her mobile phone, and mumbled, "So... that... 'Matt' friend of Mihael's... he's... dead. And... seeing as Mihael stole back his Death Note... that means..."

Suddenly, Felicity couldn't bear to continue, as if she had come to a horrifying conclusion.

Rem looked at Felicity with slight concern, "...what have you figured out? What is bothering you?"

"...I... I... I should be dead... I might be being manipulated before my death..." Felicity said in a bizarrely calm voice, "Mihael probably killed Matt because he was going to meet with me tonight, and was afraid I may have used him to steal the notebook back... or perhaps he's using this to spite me before he finishes me off..."

"What... what do you mean?" Rem asked, her yellow eyes looking over the older woman, "...your... I am not allowed to tell you your remaining lifespan, however... it doesn't seem like your lifespan has been removed..."

Felicity sat down on her luxurious sofa, and thought to herself, before broadcasting said thoughts to Rem, "...why? Why hasn't he killed me yet? It doesn't make any sense... this is worrying, I wish I was able to kill him, but that Ryuk... he tricked me into misspelling his name four times..."

"How do you know this 'Mihael' is in fact, the first owner of the notebook?" Rem asked, "What event allowed you to figure this out?"

"Ryuk and I had a plan in which he pointed out Mihael to me, and Mihael noticed Ryuk, which meant he had at least touched the Death Note before..." Felicity explained, "...he seemed genuinely scared, as if he hadn't seen..."

Suddenly, Felicity's eyes widened, and she looked at her Shinigami, "...Rem, you mentioned that my Shinigami Eyes allow me to see people's names and lifespans... and that Death Note users do not show a lifespan. So, if I call up Mihael, and look at him, I'll be able to tell if he's an owner of a Death Note or not..."

"But I thought you were sure of it..." Rem pointed out.

"But just then I realised something..." Felicity said, her brain uncharacteristically active, "...Ryuk had tricked me so that Mihael would be immune to Death Notes. Ryuk may have been tricking me about other things... I think that perhaps... someone other to Mihael may have been the first user of Ryuk's Death Note..."

Rem smiled a little, before adopting her usual worried expression, "But... what if Mihael _is _the first user of the Death note, and he is looking for you?"

"Well, if he is, he has held back in killing me so far..." Felicity replied, "...clearly, he has some use for me... or perhaps..." Felicity giggled a little to herself, "...he liked last night so much that he wants me alive for other reasons...sort of like Batman dating Catwoman, don't you think?"

Rem sighed. It seemed that for a moment, Felicity was being thoughtful, however, she had set herself back onto the intellectual square zero from that remark alone. After a brief period of exasperation, Rem mused, "...I guess that you're right. Investigation of Mihael Keehl would probably be a wise move..."

Felicity proceeded to skip upstairs, and decided to change into something less suited for dating, and more suited for casual wear. Once she did that, she called up the person in contacts labelled 'Michael Cain'. Smirking a little, she waited for an answer...

_Mello's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd Site, just after these events..._

Mello was sitting in his room, stewing over what the best course of action was... he was unsure if making the first move of he, Near, and L's plan was premature. Near and L had said that he would simply visit Felicity and tell her the bad news as if he didn't know Halley had already told her, however, Mello knew he had a little something both L and Near were _severely _lacking- the social skills required to know that such an action was highly contrived, especially for someone supposedly grieving their friend- the phrase 'bros before hoes' came to mind, and certainly, it didn't seem right that one of the first people he'd go to regarding his 'friend's' death was an older woman he'd had a one-night stand with...

...however, whether Mello thought of the action as contrived or not, fate seemed to bend over backwards for the plan regardless, and his phone began to ring. Checking the caller, Mello was surprised to see that Felicity had brought the investigation to him, and he answered quickly enough, "...uh... hello?"

"Hello, Mike, darling..." Felicity's voice said, her additional years to Mello showing through her voice alone, "...I... I called Matt's phone today, and his friend told me he was... dead... died of a heart attack, apparently... I just wanted to say... I'm so sorry..."

Mello's face fell... this was not what he expected... _she_ called _him_, and was offering _him _condolences... something didn't seem right. However, Mello decided to keep her talking, "...yeah, it... it just came out of nowhere... I... I'm not really sure what to say..."

"...would... would you like to come over?" Felicity's voice asked, "You know, you need something to take your mind off this... come on, get out of that miserable little student hovel and spend the night in a comfortable house..."

Now Mello _knew _there was something wrong... this act was so unbelievably fake that it _almost _passed into the other side of the believability spectrum. However, he couldn't just throw away an opportunity such as this, so he allowed for the ridiculous story, "Yeah... that... that would be good..."

"Oh, brilliant! I'll pick you up... at the exit near the Mail Office!" Felicity said, her voice slightly excited-sounding, "Be there in ten minutes!"

With that, the woman hung up, and Mello looked down in slight apprehension, "...this... this seems... wrong..."

Before he went out, Mello knew his first move should be to discuss the event with Near. When he was in Wammy's House, he was always too proud to accept guidance from the child-like genius, however, over the course of this investigation, he had slowly come to accept that their co-operation was paramount to the success of every plan they formulated together.

Knocking on Near's door, the boy instantly opened said door before Mello could even ask to be let in. He allowed Mello the space to go into his room, and quickly shut the door behind him.

"Mello, you really need to keep your voice down..." Near remarked, "The walls in this flat complex are highly permeable with regards to sound. I heard all of your side of your conversation... I can assume that Felicity Granger called you?"

Mello was secretly rather impressed at Near's almost instantaneous deduction from his side of the conversation alone, however, he kept the conversation strictly business, "Yeah... she wants me to meet her at her house..."

Near grinned, "Well, that saves you having to ask her... I shall inform L and provide you with the wire-tap and button camera from before... and the false hearing aid, of course..."

"...thanks..." Mello mused, taking a wire tap and a button camera from Near's drawer, and placing a small device into his ear, "...still, it's strange, isn't it? That she would call me first?"

"Perhaps she genuinely finds you attractive..." Near mused, before scoffing, "...or, more likely, she wants to get her Death Note back. I can't believe she'd be foolish enough to assume you'd carry it on your person... I reckon Matthew wasn't that foolish, wouldn't you say?"

Mello sighed to himself, "...damn it, he's only died today, and already we're talking about him like it's no big deal..."

"...there's no point in letting death that is close to us affect our work any more than the others..." Near pointed out, "...remember, there have been countless deaths that have affected countless lives prior to Matthew's death. He is just one of many. Remember, Mello, you need to look for a second Death Note... and perhaps... perhaps the God of Death will be there, too. That may be a clue..."

Mello looked down, ever so slightly bitter at Near, finding it difficult to take his heartless, yet legitimate point to heart. Finally, he turned around, and said, "Well, I need to be going, she said she'd pick me up ten minutes from when we talked, and it's already been..."

"...five minutes." Near mused, "Be careful, Mello... the creature may be accompanying Felicity once again... you haven't seen it recently, have you?"

"No..." Mello pondered out loud, "...I'm actually surprised, I thought it would have come for it, but it hasn't done anything of the sort..."

"...I see." Near replied, turning on his computer, "Well, good luck..."

"Since when did you believe in luck?" Mello instantly said back.

"...well, if you wish to be pedantic..." Near turned away, and curled his hair tightly with his finger, "...I hope the probability of your survival is high. Is that better?"

Mello simply grunted at this response, and walked out of Near's room, closing the door as quickly as it could be closed. Pretty soon, Near had set up the computer so that he was speaking with L.

"Ryuzaki, Mike's initiated the first stage of the plan. He is wearing button camera four, and wire tap thirteen. I suggest we start watching and listening to them immediately..."

"Of course..." L's voice replied, "...so, he called her?"

"...no..." Near replied, "...she... she called him..."

"This is undoubtedly a trap..." L mused, "...oh well. Mello is probably aware of the risks... and if it truly is a trap, then we will be able to catch the whole business on camera and at least be able to take Felicity Granger out of the equation... soon, this case will be over..."

"...this is true..." Near mused, "...and if it isn't a trap?"

"It almost certainly is..." L mused, "But I do not know what it is the woman is hoping to achieve... it seems odd... if what Mello told us was true, then the Shinigami mentioned that he was immune to these... 'Death Note' objects..."

"...Mello... he wasn't very clear about what the Shinigami said to him..." Near mused, "I wonder, now that I have touched the Death Note, could I possibly review video footage of this morning, when Mello left Felicity's house with the Death Note and see the Shinigami?"

"That may be for the best..." L said, and stayed quiet, expecting Near to open up one of the many video files on his computer.

Near did just so, and watched the morning's footage. He barely flinched as he saw a naked Mello walk up to the clothes the button camera was attached to, and casually remarked, "...well, that's interesting, isn't it?"

"What is?" L replied.

"Mello has a small penis..." Near objectively stated, "...that explains his penchant for leather..." Near stopped, and after an awkward silence, weakly laughed, "My apologies, I guess this _is _serious..."

After watching through the footage, Near smiled, as just as he expected, he was now able to see the tall, pale blue monstrosity which had ambushed Mello that morning. It spoke to Mello so calmly, and told him various pieces of information... and finally, the particular tidbit he was after in detail was heard...

Ryuk's voice said over the computer's speaker's, "This is all a game to me. I figured having a powerful piece like you would be fun. Just so you know, only that notebook is ineffective against you. I have a notebook of my own... and I can still kill you with it."

Near's eyes widened, "No... no, it can't... Ryuzaki, we have to stop this operation!"

L's voice suddenly spoke up, "What's wrong, Near?"

"...the... the God of Death... he mentioned that... although Mello is now immune to the Death Note formerly in possession of Felicity Granger and Matthew Dave, other Death Notes are effective to him... not only that, but he revealed he was in possession of one himself..." Near's normally stoic demeanour seemed to be quite rattled, "...he may have given his own to Felicity Granger... and... and Felicity may be intending to kill Mello with this second note..."

L became quiet, his mind's wheels turning, "...so far, all the killings have required knowledge of the true name of the subject, as the Death Note's rules state... and Mello's true name... at the very least, the spelling of it... is unknown. Mello should be safe. I think Felicity may be attempting to re-acquire the name, but nothing more... Mello should be safe... we cannot waste this opportunity..."

Near hunched over a little more than usual, and thought to himself, "...this... Felicity Granger has to be the stupidest woman with such powers ever... the plan is so obvious, and has so many flaws... it almost makes me think she's a bigger threat than what we credit her with..."

"Near, if it looks like there's a risk, then we'll tell Mello to withdraw, but it would seem that Mello is safe, for the time being..." L replied, "...okay, let's watch the button camera... you'll be able to tell me if you see that 'God of Death', won't you, Near?"

"Yes..." Near mumbled, his tone of voice still anxious. He didn't quite know what it was, but something about this whole situation was making the boy feel uneasy...

_Just outside the Mail Office, Ffriddoedd Site, during the latter half of the former events_

Mello walked to the exit of the Ffriddoedd Site that was closest to the Mail Office, and Felicity was already waiting there, in her silver Porsche nine-eleven. Opening the passenger door, Mello got in, and said, "...uh... hi."

Felicity looked Mello over, and cocked her head with confusion, before getting into character, and saying, "...so... how are you coping?"

"Well... it's just... so suddenly..." Mello said, putting on a convincing façade of grief, partially because he still was in genuine shock, "...I'm not sure what to think about the whole thing..."

Felicity would have loved to have been thinking about a response to Mello's remark, however, something else was bothering her far more... when she looked at his face, not only did she see the spelling she was meant to have wrote into her first Death Note- 'Mihael Keehl'... but she noticed that a set of numbers were floating above his head, like every single human she saw on the way to pick Mello up.

This didn't make sense... why did he have them? In that case, why would he steal the Death Note? If he wasn't the original owner, what would be the point of taking it...

Felicity gulped, and before she could stop herself, asked, "...M-Michael... what... what are you?"

"What? What am I?" Mello asked, confused by her sudden change in attitude...

Suddenly, L's voice spoke up in Mello's ear, "...what's going on? Felicity Granger seems to have noticed something..."

Mello didn't need L to tell him that... Felicity was now white as a sheet, and quivering in fear. Out of the blue, she started her engine, and said, "G-g-get out... get out... now..."

Mello didn't understand what the abnormal shift in behaviour was, however, he didn't seem to have any other choice but to oblige, and left the car as quickly as he entered it, and once he had shut the passenger door, Felicity sped off into the distance.

Mello looked at the car sheepishly as it left, and whispered to his earpiece, "...L, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No... but whatever has happened, it has caused Felicity to call off whatever trap she had set for you..." L mused, "And also, it reduces the likelihood of her finding out your real name..."

"My real... wait, why should that be a problem?" Mello asked, "The Shinigami saved my life, didn't he? I'm safe from those things..."

L's voice wavered for a moment, before he said, "...no. Near reviewed the footage... Mello, Felicity Granger should be able to kill you if she uses another Death Note to write your name down. You must be especially cautious that she doesn't find out your name..."

"Well, given my name is so hard to spell, that shouldn't be a..." Mello began to say, before he suddenly fell to the floor, quivering, "...h-h-huh? What..."

However, before he could continue to speak, Mello had fully collapsed, his body lying on the street outside of the Ffriddoedd Site...

"...Mello? Mello, can you hear me? Mello? Mello?" L's voice asked, repeating over and over in his non-responsive ears, his voice becoming noticeably more worried with every repetition, "Mello? Can you hear me?"

However, Mello neither replied to L, nor got up... he simply lay there... it was only a matter of time before a horrified bystander would discover him, calling the police like any good citizen would...

_47 Belmont Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, right after this event_

Felicity rushed into her house, gasping repeatedly, holding on to her Death Note like it was some kind of comfort blanket. She quivered as she said, "Th-that was close..."

"...why did you kill the human?" Rem asked, "He was not an owner of a Death Note, which means he was not a threat..."

"But..." Felicity began to point out, "...he was the one who stole my Death Note. If he wasn't a killer... he was someone investigating the killers... someone has noticed what I've been doing, and the authorities are now on to me! He was working for the police! If he wasn't, why else would he have taken it! I'm such an idiot..."

"But won't killing him just attract more attention?" Rem asked.

"He probably knew enough about me to get me arrested, and he's probably told other people..." Felicity said, her tone shaky and panicked, "...I need to run. Rem, we're going on a cruise..."

"A... cruise?" Rem asked, "What do you mean?"

"There's a pier on Anglesey which has a boat called 'The Endeavour' on it." Felicity said, "I... I know the captain of it is... Ben Strachan. I'll simply make his death in twenty-three days, and during those days, he'll help me sail out of here!"

"...are you sure that..." Rem began to say, but the frightened woman didn't want to listen to her.

"WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST, REM?" Felicity screamed, "They're on to me! That... Mihael man, he's probably been investigating me for ages, he was probably planning an ambush on me tonight!"

Felicity proceeded to write down, 'Ben Strachan, drowning. Drives to Porth Daniel and meets Felicity Granger there at seven thirty post meridian today. Takes the 'Endeavour' into the Irish Sea, and further out into the Atlantic, before falling off the deck and drowning at twelve midday, January the fourteenth.'

Felicity grinned, and began laughing to herself maniacally, "Ha! This is it... ha ha... this is it! And I'll have a boat, all to myself... ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha... ha ha ha ha! I'm sure I'll be able to grasp how the thing works after watching Ben boating for a while..."

Rem could do naught but watch as Felicity's rapidly dwindling sanity escaped her completely, and she packed together her many clothes in preparation for leaving her house, and her country altogether...

Author's Note: Damn, too many wham moments...

...well, did anyone expect that little twist? It's what TV Tropes calls a 'Literal Genie' moment- the Death Note merely specifies that 'The Death Note will be rendered ineffective if a victim's name is misspelled four times'. It doesn't say all Death Notes would be rendered ineffective, nor does it even say the Death Note would be ineffective only against the misspelled name. It's a very vague rule, and thus can be very vaguely interpreted, and because it was never used in canon...

...such an obscure rule is a fanfiction writer's pot o' gold!


End file.
